Image Credit: Netflix
stranger things The universe is officially expanding beyond novels, comics, and a stage play, with a full animated series coming in 2026. After years of rumors, codenames, and festive reveals, Stranger Things: Stories from ’85 Now that’s just around the corner as season 5 The Mothership will conclude the series during the festive period.
Here’s an updated guide to everything we know so far Stranger Things: Stories from ’85,
Team behind the show, production status, release date
Developed under the working title Project Mirkwood (pointing to the road near Hawkins Lab), the series has been in the works for a long time and has been renewed for a second season since its inception.
- Release Window: confirmed for 2026 Season 1 is expected to debut in the spring.
- Season Order: What’s on Netflix? understands that the series has received a two-season advance order, which has been fully developed and produced.
- studio: Animation is being conducted Flying Bark Productions (Sydney/LA/Spain), known for studios Marvel’s What If…?, glitch techAnd rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles,
The series is led by showrunner Eric Robles ,glitch tech, Fanboy and Chum Chum), the Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen serve as executive producers.
Beyond Robles, the creative team boasts some serious animation pedigree. jennifer monroe ,Star Trek: Prodigy) has been confirmed as the writer of the series, expressing on social media how hard the team has worked to bring this vision to life.
On the direction front, sarah partington And ben troy Has been tapped to lead the episode. According to the Annecy presentation, he was specifically chosen for his ability to blend live-action sensibilities with animated storytelling – a key skill to maintain the cinematic feel of the flagship show.
Image Credit: Netflix
Timeline: Bridging the Gap
The most important aspect of Stories of ’85 Its place in the canon timeline. The series is set between Season 2 (Fall 1984) and Season 3 (Summer 1985). The official logline sets the stage:
“Welcome to Hawkins in the harsh winter of 1985, where the original characters must battle new monsters and uncover a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town.”
crack the code
This setting presented a unique narrative challenge. At the end of Season 2, Eleven closed the giant gate to the Upside Down. So, how can there be demons?
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment WeeklyShowrunner Eric Robles explains how he found the solution. “I analyzed the show, looking for any kind of flaws,” Robles told EW. “And then I got this idea that I was just like, ‘Oh! I think that’s it.'”
Robles teased the main concept in Entertainment Weekly thus: “Hawkins Lab science meets upside down matter.” He notes that even with the gateway closed, a “chain reaction” occurs among beings already present in our world.
Image via Entertainment Weekly exclusive story
for voice cast Stranger Things: Stories from ’85
While the characters are familiar, the voices will be new. The live-action actors are not reprising their roles for this animated iteration. Instead, a new cast of young actors have been chosen to bring the Hawkins crew to life, as announced by Netflix in early November 2025:
- Eleven: Brooklyn Dewey Norstad
- Mike: luca diaz
- Desire: Benjamin Placela
- Lucas: Elisha “EJ” Williams
- Dustin: braxton quinney
- Maximum: Jolie Hoang-Rappaport
- Hopper: Brett Gipson
The series will also include vocal performances odessa azion, jaanne garofaloAnd lou diamond phillips In unknown roles.
New characters and monsters
This won’t happen stranger things Without new threats. Robles insisted Entertainment Weekly While the show is animated, “it is not Scooby DooMan…the stakes are real for kids.
Demon
During the Annecy Film Festival presentation for the series, the team revealed that the “monster of the week” format would actually be tied to a larger season-long mystery. The new creatures teased include:
- upside down pumpkin corpse
- human/vomiting vine hybrid
- Minotaurs
New character: Nicky Baxter
A major addition to the cast is a character named nikki baxterDescribed as a “tinkerer” with spiky pink hair, she resembles Vi in appearance, of differenceShe is slightly taller than the main group and appears to be a valuable asset to the team,
Visual style and inspiration
aesthetics of Stories of ’85 A distinctive blend of Saturday Morning cartoon and modern high-end animation.
“North Star”
While the Duffer Brothers wanted a “Saturday morning cartoon” atmosphere, they did not want it to seem childish. Robles cited The Real Ghostbusters, particularly its darker, scarier episodes, as the show’s “North Star” during the Annecy presentation. and also cited examples like at, the Lost Boysand horror themed young adult book covers such as Goosebumps By RL Stine.
scene and location
As Entertainment Weekly reports, Robles looked not to Marvel for visual inspiration, but to posters for the original show Created by Kyle LambertThe goal was to bring the vibrant, saturated colors and “Spielbergian” style of those Drew Struzan-esque posters to life in animation,
Image Credit: Kyle Lambert
The animation team didn’t just create simple backgrounds; He carefully recreated the iconic Hawks landmarks in CG to match the live-action cinematography. Fans can expect to see the Palace Arcade, Hawkins Junior High, Hawkins Lab, and the city streets again, all reimagined under a new winter aesthetic.
fan art effect
In a unique twist, the production team was heavily inspired by the fan artist mabies ruiz cruzrobles His work cited on Instagram as a “breakthrough” for the show’s character designs, proving that fan art can actually lead to official industry work.
Image: Mebis Ruiz Cruz/Instagram
Is this a “Tokyo” spin-off?
A few years ago, you may remember we posted about a project we received information about Strange Things: TokyoFocuses on video game-loving twin brothers in 1980s Japan.
it is No That project, although Netflix has been very quiet about whether that project still exists and what its status is. Stay tuned.
Is this canon?
Yes. The Duffer Brothers have been involved from the beginning, seeing it as the realization of their dream to create a cartoon in the style of the cartoons they grew up watching (e.g. heyman And transformerRobles confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the timeline is confirmed: “If we do a season 25 finale… it would tie in perfectly with the timeline.”
Image: Netflix
That’s all we know so far – we’ll keep you posted whenever we hear more about the series.