Netflix has ordered a live-action Stranger Things prequel called Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, due in 2028. The announcement came on Friday, November 6, 2026, Stranger Things Day. The series is set in the 1950s with new characters and a new setting, and no cast has been announced. Here is what has been confirmed and what has not.
What Netflix has announced
According to SlashFilm and Yahoo Entertainment, the show comes from Matt and Ross Duffer, the creators of Stranger Things, working with longtime Stranger Things writer Kate Trefry. Trefry is the showrunner and a co-creator, and she also wrote the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Joe Wright, whose films include Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, will direct the first three episodes.
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No exact premiere date has been given beyond the year 2028. Neither source reports an episode count.
Setting and story
The series takes place in the 1950s, in Marion, Nevada, not Hawkins, Indiana. That puts it before the events of the main show and before The First Shadow, the stage production set in Hawkins in 1959. For reference, season 1 of Stranger Things is set in 1983 and season 5 in 1987.
Plot details are scarce. The announcement included a short teaser showing an abandoned bicycle outside a restricted area at night, with “Sh-Boom†by The Chords playing on the bike’s radio. Yahoo notes the same song appears in season 5 of the main series.
The Duffers described the project as a dream come true and called it “Stranger Things†but also “thrillingly fresh,†with new heroes and new villains. Trefry said she hopes it will “blow your minds and break your hearts all over again.†SlashFilm adds that she said the team wants to honour the original’s horror, wonder and mystery while telling a new story.
Cast: who is and is not returning
No casting has been announced, and the Duffers have said casting news will come next. The series will have all-new characters, and Yahoo reports that Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, who play Eleven and Mike in the original, are not expected to return.
Yahoo points out one small piece of history: Wolfhard told The Tonight Show in 2023 that a prequel “would be a cool way to kind of expand†the franchise, and Ross Duffer later said on Instagram that Wolfhard had correctly guessed the premise. That is a comment about an idea, not confirmation of any involvement.
Production
Yahoo reports that the show will shoot in New Mexico. SlashFilm says the production location was not stated, so treat that detail as a single-source report for now.
Where it fits in the franchise
SlashFilm notes that the main series has ended, and that its finale divided viewers. Other projects in the universe include the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, set in winter 1985 between seasons 2 and 3, and the stage play The First Shadow. SlashFilm suggests that moving through different decades could let the franchise continue for a long time.
Confirmed and unconfirmed
- Confirmed: the title, the 2028 target, the 1950s setting, the Duffer Brothers and Kate Trefry as creators, Trefry as showrunner, and Joe Wright directing the first three episodes.
- Reported by one source: New Mexico as the filming location.
- Not announced: cast, episode count, release date within 2028, and the plot beyond the setting.
With filming and casting still ahead, expect more detail over the next year.
Sources
- SlashFilm: Stranger Things Spin-Off Series Ordered At Netflix
- Yahoo Entertainment: Netflix announces Stranger Things prequel Other Worlds (updated November 6, 2026)
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