New Stranger Things live-action prequel officially moving forward at Netflix
The world of Stranger Things is expanding back in time.
Marking "Stranger Things Day"—the fictional date Will Byers first vanished into the Upside Down—Netflix officially announced on Friday that creators Matt and Ross Duffer are moving forward with a brand-new live-action prequel series, titled Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure.
Targeted for a 2028 premiere on the streaming service, the spinoff series leaves the familiar 1980s cul-de-sacs of Hawkins, Indiana, behind. Instead, it transports viewers to 1955 Marian, Nevada, predating the events of both the flagship show and the West End/Broadway stage prequel The First Shadow.
Longtime series writer Kate Trefry, who penned The First Shadow, will serve as showrunner, with acclaimed filmmaker Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice) signed on to direct the opening three episodes.
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"Watch the Skies, Nerds!"
In an official statement announcing the project, Matt and Ross Duffer teased a blend of classic supernatural lore and completely uncharted territory.
"We’ve been dreaming of Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure for many years now, and to see it become a reality is surreal and exhilarating," the Duffers shared. "It’s Stranger Things, but also thrillingly fresh, with a new setting, new heroes and villains, and new… actually, we’re not allowed to say any more. Now, on to casting. In the meantime — watch the skies, nerds!"
Showrunner Trefry echoed their excitement, describing the process of crafting the 1950s adventure alongside the franchise creators:
"We have had the time of our lives returning to all the horror, wonder, and mystery of the flagship, while also telling a wholly new story, one we hope will blow your minds and break your hearts all over again," Trefry said. "There are so many more mysteries to explore. Welcome to Other Worlds."
Executive producer Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps production banner will also return to oversee the live-action offshoot.
Solving the Mystery of the Nevada Caves
While the Duffers emphasized that Other Worlds will not just be a narrow origin story about the Mind Flayer, the show’s 1950s Nevada setting directly connects to a massive unanswered thread teased during the final season of the mothership series: the origins of Henry Creel (Vecna).
Earlier this year, the creators acknowledged that a lingering question regarding young Henry's journey—specifically what he discovered inside the Nevada caves, including a mysterious glowing rock, an infected dead scientist, and the source of his telekinetic powers—was deliberately left open for future storytelling.
"It is the one thing that we purposely left a bit of a question mark on that theoretically will be answered later down the line," Ross Duffer explained to EW, earlier this year. "But that really was the one tiny little crack in the door that we wanted to leave open."
"I don't want to mislead people in thinking that that's really what the spinoff is about," Matt Duffer clarified. "It’s going to answer that question, but it’s its own mythology. So it’s very, very different... for people who are frustrated that they don't know where that scientist came from, how he's in the cave, what the glowing rock is, at some point, that will be answered for you."
Following the London and Broadway runs of The First Shadow and the animated bridge series Stranger Things: Tales from '85, the creative team felt the timeline needed a dramatic expansion rather than filling in smaller historical gaps.
"To be able to move forward, we have to build out a new mythology because otherwise we’re just gonna keep finding these little narrow gaps and it’s just gonna get narrower and narrower and more forced," Ross added. "So the goal is to break it wide open and do something very new and very different."
Casting for Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure is expected to begin shortly ahead of production.
Topics: Stranger Things, Film and TV, Netflix
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