Stranger Things is over as a show, but the universe will live on at Netflix. While Stranger Things‘ ending wraps things up quite neatly for most of the main characters, there will be spinoffs that further explore this world. The show is too big and successful to not become a franchise, after all. Indeed, it already is, with comic books and a stage play, but it’ll be expanding with more TV shows as well, including the animated Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, which will follow the main group on an adventure set between Seasons 2 and 3.
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As well as that, there is a mysterious live-action spinoff in development. While it won’t feature any familiar characters, Stranger Things‘ series finale does set it up through the story of Henry Creel and the Mind Flayer. When young Henry found a scientist in a cave, he opened up a briefcase to find a rock that came from The Abyss, the world of the Mind Flayer. This led to him being controlled by and working with the monster, and we’re going to learn more about it in the live-action spinoff, as Matt Duffer told Variety that defining the rock is “spinoff-y,” saying:
“I do want to explain, just because people’s expectations go in certain directions: 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.”
What Was The Rock In The Briefcase & What Will The Stranger Things Spinoff Be About?
The rock in the briefcase is a key part of Stranger Things‘ finale, and connects back to The First Shadow, the stage play that serves as a prequel to the show. That gives us more context about who that scientist was, and how a rock from The Abyss ended up in our world. In the 1940s, the United States conducted experiments – known as The Philadelphia Experiment – that led to a ship and its crew being transported to that dimension, where almost all of them were killed. The only survivor was a Captain Brenner – yes, father of Dr. Martin Brenner – who returned home, but with his blood-type significantly altered.
In the 1950s, Martin Brenner started The Nevada Experiment, in an effort to replicate what had caused his father’s ship to be transported and learn the secrets of his blood and that other dimension. However, one member of his team was a Soviet spy – and that’s the person Henry meets in the cave. That then gives us the basis for The First Shadow and how Henry became Number One under Brenner, but does it clue us in about the spinoff?
The story of Henry and Brenner is not going to be the focus of the show, since it would just be adapting the stage play at that point, plus the Duffers have confirmed it’s about new characters, new mythology, and a new time period, with no one from the TV series returning. Could it instead be fleshing out The Philadelphia Experiment, the story of Captain Brenner, and exploring more of The Abyss? That would be set in the 1940s, and not have any characters from the show, so at least seems more plausible based on the creators’ comments, even if it would remain to be seen how it then avoids getting too deep into the Mind Flayer lore.
Of course, it could be something entirely new, though linking it to experiments of some kind seems a decent bet. The Abyss presumably has to play some role, since they’re saying the rock is connected to the spinoff, but it could be something set much further in the past, or even outside of the United States if they really wanted to differentiate it. Whatever it is, there’ll at least be some answers, just maybe not as many as fans might want.
All seasons of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
