The Duffer brothers are working on an idea that’s “1,000 percent different” from the hit series.
Words by Quinci Legardye
We may have only one season left of Stranger Things, but the Duffer brothers are just getting started.
Netflix announced yesterday that the creators of the megahit paranormal series are developing a live-action Stranger Things spin-off series, based on an original idea by the showrunner duo. Matt and Ross Duffer mentioned a possible spin-off multiple times during their Season 4 press run, and now the streaming giant has officially acknowledged the show, along with four other projects (including a Stranger Things stage play!).
There’s no news on a possible plot for the untitled spin-off, but we shouldn’t expect to see Eleven, Steve, or anyone else from the original series. In their recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the brothers said that the spin-off will be “1,000 percent different” and connected to the original show by its “storytelling sensibility,” rather than its main characters.
“It’s not following … I’ve read these rumors that there’s gonna be an Eleven spin-off, that there’s gonna be a Steve and Dustin spin-off or that it’s another number,” they said. “That’s not interesting to me because we’ve done all that. We’ve spent I don’t know how many hours exploring all of that. So it’s very different.”
The duo added that they’re planning to pass the series on to a new showrunner so they can work on their other projects. “Hopefully we find that right person to pass the baton to while we go on to do new stuff,” they said.
Per Deadline, some of those projects include a live-action series adaptation of the anime Death Note, a series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s 1984 novel The Talisman (a.k.a. the book Lucas was reading to Max in the hospital), and the aforementioned Stranger Things stage play. The play will be set within the Stranger Things universe and directed by Stephen Daldry, who also worked on several episodes of The Crown.
As for when we can expect the spin-off to arrive, production will likely have to wait until after Season 5 is done.
“There’s a version of it developing in parallel [to Season 5], but they would never shoot it parallel,” Ross Duffer told Variety in June. “I think actually we’re going to start delving into that soon as we’re winding down and finishing these visual effects, Matt and I are going to start getting into it.”
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This story originally appeared in harpersbazaar.com
