The hit Netflix series Stranger Things has a tight grip on the world. There’s so much hype around the final season that no one is thinking twice about the fact that the show is dropping new episodes right before three of the busiest days of the year. That’s because Stranger Things is appointment viewing, meaning fans have to drop whatever they’re doing to watch it, or risk being spoiled on social media or at the water cooler. Few franchises have that effect anymore, but there’s one that’s been capturing the headlines for the better part of two decades: the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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While the MCU has been struggling in recent years, failing to recapture the magic of the first three phases, it’s still the biggest mover and shaker in the entertainment industry. In fact, 2026 is shaping up to be a banner year for Marvel Studios with the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. However, there are still some wounds that the MCU needs to address, and it’s going to be even tougher for them to heal, since Stranger Things 5 is about to remind everyone about them when Part II drops later this year.
Marvel Studios Turned Its Franchise Into a Homework Assignment
Avengers: Endgame was the event to end all events. Since Avengers: Infinity War ended with a shocking cliffhanger that saw half of life in the universe disappear, the world waited on bated breath to learn how Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would set things right. The journey was arduous, with a couple of major characters losing their lives, but the good guys came out victorious. Rather than going out on the high note of all high notes, though, Marvel Studios decided to change up its formula by expanding in a major way. Phase Four included a number of Disney+ series that connected directly to the movies, including The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which went off without a hitch. Not every show was that lucky, though.
WandaVision, which picked up right after the events of Endgame, followed Wanda Maximoff living in the small town of Westview, where strange events kept taking place. Eventually, it came to light that Wanda was behind the whole thing, wanting to get back everything she lost and more. She seemingly learned her lesson by the end of the series, but her attitude was different in her next appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Something clearly got lost in translation, because even those who watched WandaVision were taken aback by the former Avenger’s actions. Truth be told, Marvel Studios bit off more than it could chew by trying to tie its shows into the movies, and now Stranger Things is walking down the same path.
Stranger Things Really Wants to Make a Little-Known Spinoff Relevant
Nobody can blame Netflix and the Duffer brothers for milking Stranger Things for all its worth. After all, a series with this amount of pull only comes around once in a blue moon. One unique route that the powers that be are taking is bringing Stranger Things to the stage with the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which follows Henry Creel’s life in Hawkins during his teenage years. The project expands on what the show already reveals about Henry, including the experiments that Dr. Martin Breener puts him through. But it also goes out of its way to include important Stranger Things characters, which might cause a few problems.
Joyce, Hopper, and Bob all appear in The First Shadow, investigating a series of animal killings around Hawkins. Their mission leads them to cross paths with the Creel family and blame Henry’s father for the crimes. None of that comes up during the first four seasons of Stranger Things, but Season 5 is a different story. Part I travels to The First Shadow‘s setting in a vision, suggesting the play will be far more than supplementary material. If that’s really the case, the Duffer brothers need to be careful because they could very well alienate their audience in the same way the MCU has in recent years.
Stranger Things Season 5, Part I is streaming on Netflix.
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