Animated Stranger Things Midquel Coming to Netflix in 2026

Image: Netflix

Stranger Things is set to conclude its fifth and final season with a two‑hour finale on Dec. 31, but viewers won’t have to wait long to revisit Hawkins. Netflix has announced an animated spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, which takes place between seasons 2 and 3 and is slated to arrive in 2026.

The Duffer Brothers first hinted at the project in 2023 as a way to extend their affection for 1980s pop culture through a love letter to the era’s Saturday‑morning cartoons. Animation studio Flying Bark Productions — known for work on titles such as What If…? and Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — is producing the series, with Eric Robles (Fanboy & Chum Chum, Glitch Techs) serving as showrunner.

Few plot specifics have been released, but early images and a newly released featurette depict the Hawkins kids ensnared by a menacing, carnivorous plant while a shambling, zombie‑like threat prowls the streets. The animated format offers a natural way to keep the younger characters in play after nearly a decade, though the original young cast members are not returning as voice actors; the roles will be performed by a new group of young talents with limited prior credits.

Netflix revealed the spinoff on Nov. 6 — the date the series’ fandom marks as Stranger Things Day in reference to Will Byers’ disappearance on Nov. 6, 1983. Stranger Things season 5 will have its world premiere in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. ET on Nov. 6, accompanied by a livestream featuring cast interviews and a broadcast of the first five minutes of the final season.

Netflix will release the first four episodes of Stranger Things season 5 on Nov. 26, followed by three additional episodes on Christmas, and the two‑hour finale on New Year’s Eve. Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 is scheduled to debut in 2026.

Source: Polygon