Stranger Things' Confirmed New Era Officially Moves To A New Setting After 10 Years

Published Nov 11, 2026, 12:30 PM EST Maggie Dela Paz is a News and TV writer at ScreenRant. She has nearly a decade of professional experience in writing entertainment articles about a wide range of topics, including movies, television, music, anime, streaming, and more. For five seasons of Stranger Things, Hawkins served as the hit Netflix show's central setting. The fictional Midwestern town of Indiana was initially introduced as an idyllic 1980s American suburb, whose peace was disrupted by the sudden disappearance of 12-year-old Will Byers. With each season, Hawkins became more dangerous for its residents, caught in the middle of the Mind Flayer and Vecna’s evil interdimensional plans. From dealing with missing kids, undercover Russian officers, to a string of teenage murders and the town splitting apart because of an "earthquake," no fictional town has been through as much stress and terror as Hawkins. Now, the Stranger Things franchise is finally moving away from Indiana in Netflix's new live-action show, Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure. The announcement comes nearly a year after the premiere of its divisive Stranger Things series finale, which saw the main cast starting new chapters of their lives following Eleven's heroic sacrifice. The franchise's award-winning stage play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, was also set in Hawkins, as was its animated spin-off series Stranger Things: Tales from '85. This won't be the same case for the upcoming Other Worlds series, as fans won't only be transported back to the 1950s, but it will also follow new characters in a new fictional town. Other Worlds Is The First Stranger Things Series Set Outside Of Hawkins MovieStillsDB Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure will be the first entry in the popular Netflix franchise set primarily outside of Hawkins, marking an exciting new era for the franchise. Written by Kate Trefry, who originally served as an executive producer and writer on the main series, it's set four years before The First Shadow, which follows Henry Creel's arrival in Hawkins in 1959. For Other Worlds, Trefry is stepping into a much bigger creative role as its showrunner and co-creator. Meanwhile, franchise creators Matt and Ross Duffer will remain involved as executive producers. Adding prestige to the spin-off is Darkest Hour filmmaker Joe Wright, who has signed on to direct the first three episodes. The show is slated to debut in 2028. Other Worlds will be set in the fictional town of Marion, Nevada, starting in 1955. Plot details are under wraps, but the Duffer brothers confirmed that fans should expect to meet "new heroes and villains." The spinoff's time period and location hint at the Stranger Things franchise's connection to extraterrestrials; Nevada is famously home to Area 51. Rearrange the movies into the correct US release order. While it will be the first Stranger Things story without Hawkins as its home base, Nevada isn't unfamiliar to the franchise. During Stranger Things season 4, Eleven was taken to a secret underground facility in Ruth, Nevada, where she recovered her powers and uncovered the truth behind Henry Creel/Vecna's connection to her past. Additionally, The First Shadow revealed that Henry Creel first connected with the Mind Flayer in Nevada, around the time Other Worlds takes place. It remains to be seen whether season 4's top-secret facility will appear in the new show, though Other Worlds will likely answer some lingering questions about the Mind Flayer itself. Changing Settings Is Exactly What The Future Of Stranger Things Needs MovieStillsDB Setting Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure in an entirely new location is the best decision that the Duffer brothers have made for the franchise. Moving away from Hawkins gives the creative team the freedom to explore more stories without being limited by the original show's canon. It expands the franchise's scope, establishing that the supernatural phenomenon goes far beyond Hawkins. It also teases the possibility of other interdimensional rifts into the Abyss, the monster-filled dimension that Vecna and the Mind Flayer reside in from the final season. Along with the freedom to tell new stories, Other Worlds' creative team also has the opportunity to refresh the Stranger Things franchise with a thrilling new visual look and an ensemble cast of new faces. Separating the story from Hawkins will also let them avoid changing any existing characters. A new location gives showrunner Kate Trefry and the writing team room to deliver unpredictable storylines and twists that will ensure the franchise's longevity without repeating the same tropes they've used in the original. Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure arrives on Netflix in 2028. Stranger Things TV Show(s) Stranger Things Video Game(s) Stranger Things: 1984 First TV Show Stranger Things Cast Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, Joe Keery, Jamie Campbell Bower Created by Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Latest TV Show Stranger Things