Stranger Things returns as Netflix announces prequel set decades before original series

Stranger Things fans rejoice! Almost a year after the Netflix show wrapped up, the streaming giant has announced that the franchise will be returning.A prequel series, titled Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, is set to drop in 2028.Netflix announced the news on Friday, November 6, also known as Stranger Things Day. The annual day marks the anniversary of November 6, 1983—the fictional day that Will Byers went missing in Hawkins, Indiana, kicking off the events of the series.Some of the original cast of Stranger ThingsPA MediaIt was revealed via a trailer posted on Instagram, which shows a bicycle abandoned on its side beside a 1950s-style radio.The camera then pans to a warning sign, revealing the bicycle has been left in a restricted area, before showing a cluster of ominous-looking clouds in the sky.Text on screen reads: “April 19, 1955. Marion, Nevada.”A burst of lightning forces the clouds apart and abruptly ends the trailer, which is captioned: “Before Hawkins, there was Marion.“Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure. New series only on Netflix, 2028.” Production on the prequel will take place in New Mexico, and casting is reportedly due to begin shortly.Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who will serve as executive producers on the prequel, said: “We’ve been dreaming of Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure for many years now, and to see it become a reality is surreal and exhilarating.“It’s Stranger Things, but also thrillingly fresh, with a new setting, new heroes and villains, and new … actually, we’re not allowed to say any more. Now, on to casting. In the meantime — watch the skies, nerds!”The Duffer Brothers will serve as executive producers GettyWhile the original series was set in the remote town of Hawkins, Indiana, the prequel will take place in the fictional town of Marion, Nevada, on the other side of the country.The upcoming series is set decades before the events of Stranger Things, which takes place in the 1980s.It also predates the events of the hit theatre show Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which explores the troubled past of Henry Creel in Hawkins in 1959.The award-winning play explores the character’s origins and his eventual transformation into the otherworldly creature Vecna, the antagonist of the TV series.Kate Trefry, who is showrunner, co-creator and writer on the new show, said it is an “insane honour and privilege to be bringing this new chapter of Stranger Things to life”.Mille Bobby Brown starred in the original seriesShe added: “With the support of Netflix and (production company) 21 Laps, we have had the time of our lives returning to all the horror, wonder and mystery of the flagship, while also telling a wholly new story, one we hope will blow your minds and break your hearts all over again.Read More“There are so many more mysteries to explore. Welcome to Other Worlds.”The franchise has become a global phenomenon and expanded with several spin-offs, including the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85.Further details about Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure are yet to be announced.