Stranger Things is over. But even though the Upside Down is gone forever, the show’s creators aren’t done with the franchise just yet. The Duffer Brothers are working on a secret spinoff. Now we finally have an idea of how their next series will connect to their last one. They revealed that the rock young Henry Creel found in that briefcase in Stranger Things‘ series finale is the key to their next show.
Matt and Ross Duffer told Variety‘s Kate Aurthur that Stranger Things final episode included the connection to their spinoff. When she asked them to define the rock young Henry found in that cave, they wouldn’t. At least not yet, because we’ll be getting answers via their next series. Here’s what Matt Duffer said about the rock that let the Mind Flayer transform Henry into a (willing) mi nster:
The spinoff is going to delve into that and explain that, and you’re going to understand it. But it’s a completely different mythology. So it’s not a deep exploration of the Mind Flayer or anything like that. It’s very fresh and very new, but yes, it will answer some of the loose threads that are remaining.
We saw what that rock did to Henry and why it was his worst memory. Based on what we know from the canonical play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, we also know the evil, glowing red and black stone full of dark particles comes from Dimension X. After Stranger Things 5, Volume 2, that seemed to be the very same dimension Dustin dubbed the Abyss. They certainly seemed like the same realm, but executive producer and director Shawn Levy doesn’t think they are and the Duffers apparently haven’t even confirmed it with him.
Now we might know why they’re being coy about that question.
If Dimension X is not the the Abyss, that changes everything we thought we knew. It means the Mind Flayer, or an even more sinister force we only thought was the Mind Flayer, still exists. It would also explain how the rock that gave Henry Creel powers will still have its own mythology despite having a direct connection to Stranger Things, which totally wrapped its own story.
The Party blew up the Upside Down for good. But they didn’t destroy evil forever. Dark forces remain. And they are apparently ready to rock the real world on the Duffers spinoff.