Fans are pretty divided, even a month later, about the finale of Stranger Things. Some loved it, some did not. Others couldn’t agree that the finale even was the finale. But in any case, saying goodbye to the Hawkins, IN crew was a lengthy, emotional thing for people. Farewell, Stranger Things, we’ll never see yo—wait, what’s that? Oh, there’s a new Stranger Things midquel already? Ah, remember between season two and three? Let’s go back there! Can a show have nostalgia for itself? It seemingly can, as we see in the first trailer for the new animated series, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85.
This new Stranger Things animated series takes place in the winter of 1985, after the devastating events of season two but before the traumatic summer of season three. As we see in the trailer for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, the kids get to hang out and just be kids…until another nightmare from the Upside Down shows up. No catching of breaks here!
Alongside the trailer, we get an official synopsis for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 that says: “Our heroes Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days. But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down? From the depths of Hawkins Lab? Or from somewhere else entirely? Our heroes must race to solve this mystery and save Hawkins in this untold story set in the Stranger Things universe.“
“We get to spend time with these kids in a way that you did not have time to in the flagship series,” says Showrunner/EP Eric Robles of Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. “We were able to freeze time and really go on these never before told adventures with them in this timeline.” Continuing on, he said, “We want the audience to feel that these kids are in danger, the stakes are real, and bad things can happen to anyone. And things do happen that are very scary in a sense, so that really makes the danger for the kids that much more tangible.” The teaser trailer and new images for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 certainly highlight these elements.
The actors in the series famously aged 35 years apiece between seasons, so short of horrifying de-aging technology, animation is a viable way to revisit earlier parts of Stranger Things. Certainly, fans have been hoping to see the friendship between the characters when their lives aren’t in such immediate peril. So it makes sense in that respect, and it could be fun. We certainly enjoyed the trailer for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. In the world of franchises, absence can never be allowed to let the heart grow fonder, so it seems we’ll never fully say goodbye to Hawkins.
The cast for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 includes: Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Benjamin Plessala as Will, Brett Gipson as Hopper, Jeremy Jordan as Steve, Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips. Steve’s voice actor is a new announcement that we just received with the Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 trailer.
Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 will debut on Netflix on April 23, 2026.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.