The ‘Stranger Things’ Spinoff Won’t Feature Demogorgons, the Upside Down, or Any Recognizable Characters

The Stranger Things universe is about to expand, but not in the way people might expect. According to creators Matt and Ross Duffer, the upcoming Netflix spinoff will have virtually no direct connection to the original show’s world.

In a new interview with Variety, the Duffer Brothers make it clear they’re closing the Hawkins chapter for good.

“We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters,” Matt Duffer said. “This is a complete story. It’s done.”

Rather than stretching the mythology thinner, the spinoff will channel the spirit of Stranger Things but have virtually no connection to its storyline.

“It’s so different than something like Star Wars,” Matt said. “It doesn’t really work like that.” 

The brother says the spinoff will share the Netflix show’s “brand” and “style of storytelling."

“Kids, adventures, sci-fi/fantasy, rather than increasingly expand what could become an insanely convoluted mythology," they said. 

“They’re going to live in a bit of a different world. There’s going to be connective tissue, but you’re almost anthologizing in a way," Ross explained. "Because we’re not Star Wars. We can’t be like, ‘Oh, now we’re on this planet.’”

The brothers won’t serve as showrunners this time but will remain closely involved while developing other projects in a separate deal at Paramount.

“The hope is you’re not just doing something to just do it,” Matt said. “And Netflix has been surprisingly patient, although I think now, I feel that patience wearing thin a little bit with the show coming to an end. But they’re understanding.”