If you’re still having a hard time letting go of Stranger Things, Netflix just dropped the teaser trailer for its prequel spin-off, Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, to smooth over the hubbub around the fandom’s collective hallucination of “conformity gate.”
While Other Worlds’ announcement occurring on Stranger Things Day, i.e., the day Will Byers was kidnapped in 1983, is a neat little celebration for the series, the thirty-second teaser trailer itself is incredibly scant on details about what the show will actually be about. But for the gumshoes among us, it’s enough to put together the corner puzzle pieces the original show left behind. The biggest reveal from the trailer is that it’s set in the year 1955 in Marion, Nevada. Based on plot threads from Stranger Things‘ series finale, we can only assume the show will dive into the events before Henry Creel wandered into a cave and came into contact with a mysterious substance that gave him the powers that would turn him into Vecna.
As Variety notes, Other Worlds marks the fourth Stranger Things spin-off. Outside of the show proper (and not counting its finale documentary, which kinda gave away its creators feeling a bit aimless building the railroad tracks as its proverbial train was nearing its end), there’s the animated series, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, and its stage show, Stranger Things: First Shadow (which also dives into Vecna’s backstory). The Duffer brothers are executive producing Other Worlds alongside series writer and showrunner Kate Trefry. Joe Wright will direct the show’s first three episodes and serve as an executive producer alongside Shawn Levy. Based on everyone’s written statement, its creatives are jazzed about fleshing out the world of Stranger Things.
“Stranger Things has always belonged to the fans, and their passion made it a worldwide phenomenon,” Jinny Howe, Netflix Head of Scripted Series, U.S. & Canada, said in a statement. “Today, on Stranger Things’ Day, we’re honored to partner again with Matt and Ross Duffer and Kate Trefry to give fans a new dimension of this universe to step into. Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure takes us to the 1950s with new heroes and all the heart, mystery, and spectacle of the original series. We’re proud to keep building this world with the Duffers, Kate, Shawn Levy, and Joe Wright, and we can’t wait for fans to see what’s next.”
“The Duffer Brothers gave me my first paying job in Hollywood, and it has been a joy and a fever dream ever since,” Trefry said. “Now, it is my insane honor and privilege to be bringing this new chapter of Stranger Things to life alongside them and our incredible director Joe Wright. With the support of Netflix and 21Laps, 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. There are so many more mysteries to explore. Welcome to Other Worlds.”
“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 brothers said. “We’re so grateful to our incredible team of collaborators: our showrunner Kate Trefry, who has been in the trenches with us since Season 2 and wrote Stranger Things: The First Shadow; and our director, Joe Wright, a brilliant artist whose work we’ve long admired. We can’t wait for you to see what they’re cooking up. 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!”
Other Words: A Stranger Things Adventure is set to release sometime in 2028.
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