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Netflix's Stranger Things spin-off is making progress with all new characters and a new story, but "no one wants to make it just to make it"

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer share some details about the show's upcoming spin-off, including whether it will return to Hawkins

Stranger Things is over, but there's already a spin-off in the works. And though Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer aren't ready to divulge many details just yet, as development is being kept under wraps, but they've revealed a few choice bits of info, including some of what the spin-off won't include.

"Honestly, we can't say anything. The only thing I will say is, we're trying not to, gosh there are so many things I wish I could say," said Matt Duffer in an interview with Happy Sad Confused. "Last time I even mentioned it I got in trouble. We're being very careful. We don't want to rush it. We don't want it to be anything other than excellent. I don't know, maybe. It's moving. It's moving. I think it's gonna happen. We're trying not to rush it. No one wants to make it just to make it. No one wants to just do it to continue Stranger Things. It has to be awesome, or forget it. That's sort of everybody's mentality about it. But I think everyone's coming at it from the right space."

Matt also confirmed that the show will not be an anthology, and though it's "very early" in the process, the biggest thing they can reveal is that the spin-off will feature a new cast of characters telling a story that, while connected to Stranger Things, is not a direct continuation.

"It's exciting, but who knows. It is totally new characters, it's totally different. I don't think they'll ever leave us cause we've been with Hawkins and these characters for so long," he states.

Another thing we know for sure is that the Stranger Things spin-off won't revolve around Mike Wheeler's younger sister Holly and her friends, who take the place of the original core cast around the Dungeons and Dragons table that was central to the show. Though that moment was intended as a sign of Mike and Holly's growing up, the Duffers say it was never meant to seed a spin-off of its own.

"That also wasn't intended for that. And by that time that was written, [Holly actor Nell Fisher] would be like 17. So no, it wasn't meant for that," Matt stated. "We have one idea. We've got one idea for what we could do with Stranger Things and we had it like seven years ago. So that's what we're trying to do now. If we had another good idea we would do it. 

"If Holly starts in with this weird stuff, she's gonna call her brother, and then it's like we're just making Stranger Things again," joked Ross Duffer. "So I think, for us, that was really about passing the torch, and remembering his childhood, and saying goodbye to it. So it's not setting anything up for a sequel."

All five seasons of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix, as well as the first season of a spin-off animated series titled Stranger Things: Tales From '85, which is already confirmed for a second season.


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George Marston

George Marston: George Marston is a media critic and journalist who has specialized in superheroes and comics for nearly two decades. Along with focusing on comics and superhero media at Newsarama, George has honed a critical voice exploring TV, movies, and video games with bylines at Total Film, SFX Magazine Online, Space.com, GamesRadar+, and more. During George's time at Newsarama, the site received the 2020 Tripwire award for Best Comics-related Website / Publication. (They/Them)

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