Netflix officially approved a live-action prequel to its flagship science-fiction franchise, titled “Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure,” the streaming service announced Friday on the annual fan celebration known as Stranger Things Day.
The newly unveiled series is slated to premiere in 2028. It will shift the universe back several decades, unfolding in Marion, Nevada, on April 15, 1955. According to announcements and promotional materials released by Netflix, the timeline places the narrative well before the events of the original television series as well as the stage play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
Creative Team and 1950s Setting
Original franchise creators Matt and Ross Duffer co-created the prequel alongside veteran franchise screenwriter Kate Trefry, who penned the stage adaptation and has written for the mothership series since its second season. Trefry will serve as showrunner, co-creator, and writer. Although the Duffer brothers previously departed Netflix for a pact at Paramount, they remain attached to “Other Worlds” as executive producers.
British director Joe Wright, whose credits include feature films such as “Pride & Prejudice,” “Atonement,” and “Hanna,” has been hired to direct the first three episodes of the production.
“Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure takes us to the 1950s with new heroes and all the heart, mystery, and spectacle of the original series,” Jinny Howe, head of scripted series for the U.S. and Canada at Netflix, said in a statement.
The Duffers shared enthusiasm for the upcoming production, noting that they had considered the concept for years. “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,” the Duffer brothers stated, adding that the production is now moving directly into casting.
Expanding Franchise Footprint
A brief teaser released alongside the announcement showed an abandoned bicycle fitted with a radio lying on the ground, before panning upward past a restricted area warning sign toward a rumbling, turbulent sky. The imagery points toward a fresh ensemble of local youngsters encountering a broader government or supernatural conspiracy, though Netflix has not yet revealed character breakdowns or plot specifics.
Trefry noted that the team intends to deliver “a wholly new story” while revisiting familiar themes from the flagship program. “[W]e 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,” she said in a statement.
The announcement underscores Netflix’s strategy to maintain momentum around its most successful intellectual property after the main series concluded its run last year. The franchise has already branched out across multiple formats: the animated spin-off “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85” debuted its second season in September, while the theatrical play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” is scheduled to close its West End run on Dec. 27 and its Broadway staging on Jan. 3.
What Comes Next
With scripts developed, formal casting for the Nevada-based characters is currently getting underway. Netflix has not yet scheduled an exact calendar release date beyond the 2028 projection, and production timelines across the coming months will determine when the project begins principal photography.
