Before Hawkins, there was Marion. And apparently, there are plenty more strange things lurking in the world of Stranger Things. Netflix has officially announced Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, a brand-new live-action prequel series from the Duffer Brothers and longtime franchise writer Kate Trefry.
The announcement arrived on November 6 for Stranger Things Day, accompanied by a teaser that transports viewers to April 19, 1955, in Marion, Nevada. The series is scheduled to arrive on Netflix in 2028.
Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting to be packing my bags for another trip into the Stranger Things universe quite so soon. Then again, if there’s one fictional world that has earned the right to keep a few secrets tucked away, it’s this one.
The idea of exploring a completely different town, more than a decade before the kids of Hawkins ever encountered the Upside Down, has me genuinely excited. I’m also a little cautious. There’s something special about knowing when a story is finished, and I hope Netflix isn’t so eager to keep the franchise alive that it forgets what made the original series worth watching in the first place.
The new series takes place in the 1950s, well before the events of the original show. According to the teaser, we’re starting on April 19, 1955, in Marion, Nevada. That’s an entirely different setting from Hawkins, Indiana, and the timeline also places Other Worlds before the events of the stage production Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which explores Henry Creel’s troubled past in 1959. Netflix describes the project as a new adventure with an entirely different ensemble of heroes and villains, along with fresh supernatural mysteries and mythology.
That last part is especially interesting. The Duffer Brothers say they’ve been dreaming about Other Worlds for years, describing it as Stranger Things with a fresh reboot. They aren’t giving away much about the actual story yet, which is understandable when the first announcement is essentially an invitation to start asking questions. What happened in Marion? Why does this particular date matter? How much of what we already know about the strange forces surrounding Hawkins might have roots somewhere else?
There’s also a familiar creative name taking a much bigger role this time around. Kate Trefry, who has worked as a writer on Stranger Things and penned The First Shadow, is co-creator, showrunner, and writer of the new series. That’s an encouraging connection between the original television series and its expanding mythology. Trefry says the Duffer Brothers gave the woman her first paying job in Hollywood, and she’s now getting the opportunity to help bring another chapter of their universe to life. She promises a story filled with the horror and mystery audiences associate with the franchise, while taking things in a completely new direction.
The directing choice is another reason to pay attention. Joe Wright, the filmmaker behind Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and Darkest Hour, will direct the first three episodes and serve as an executive producer. Wright is an interesting choice for a science-fiction horror series, particularly given his experience with period settings and visually distinctive storytelling. This isn’t simply another season with a different group of kids riding bicycles around a mysterious town. Netflix appears to be assembling a different creative identity for the spin-off while keeping the original show’s DNA intact.
Matt and Ross Duffer will executive produce through their Upside Down Pictures banner, with Shawn Levy and 21 Laps Entertainment also returning to the franchise. Additional executive producers include Paul Dichter, Shelley Meals, Andrea Sperling, and Pavlina Hatoupis. Production is scheduled to take place in New Mexico. Netflix hasn’t announced the cast yet, so we’ll have to wait to find out who gets to discover whatever is going wrong in Marion.
The franchise has already expanded beyond its original five-season television story. The stage production Stranger Things: The First Shadow explored the earlier history of Henry Creel, while the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 returned to Hawkins for another adventure with the familiar gang. Netflix has also built immersive attractions around the property. Other Worlds is a different proposition, however, because it introduces a new live-action story with a new cast and a new location rather than simply revisiting characters we already know.
I’m all for discovering more of this universe. The 1950s setting gives the creative team plenty of room to play with the era’s science, paranoia, small-town secrets, and old-fashioned monster-movie atmosphere. Marion could become an entirely different kind of nightmare from Hawkins, and Joe Wright directing the opening episodes gives me another reason to be curious.
Still, I hope the new series has a story that needs to be told rather than existing simply because Stranger Things is a valuable Netflix property. We don’t need every mysterious town to become another Hawkins, and we certainly don’t need the same adventure with a fresh coat of paint. Give us something strange and don’t be afraid to surprise us.
Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure is coming exclusively to Netflix in 2028. For now, the teaser is all we have, and Marion, Nevada, is keeping its secrets.
