Stranger Things Officially Recasts 7 Main Characters in First Look at New Spinoff (& It Might Create a Plot Hole)

Netflix has released the first look at its upcoming Stranger Things spinoff, and the new actors taking on the roles of Eleven, Will Byers, and more. Much of the focus is on the impending end of the main series, with Stranger Things Season 5 set to debut on Thanksgiving, beginning what will be a three-part rollout for the final season of the show (culminating with the finale on New Year’s Eve). However, this is one of Netflix’s biggest properties, so unsurprisingly there are already plans for more things to come and turn it into a bona fide franchise.

First up is Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, a series that will take place in between Seasons 2 and 3 of the main TV show. It’ll once again pick things up with the gang in Hawkins, where they discover things weren’t quite as quiet as they thought. Unlike its parent series, Tales From ’85 is an animated series, with a style somewhat reminiscent of Netflix’s Arcane, which the Duffers explain in the video below was intended to “evoke the feeling of an ’80s cartoon.”

The video doesn’t give a whole lot to go on plot wise, but finds the kids getting up to some usual hijinks before the threats from the Upside Down being to emerge, with what looks like a new spin on a demogorgon. Most of the show’s main characters are confirmed to appear in the series, but won’t be played by the same actors as in live-action (presumably due to a mix of scheduling, production costs, and them aging out of the roles even for voice work). The new cast includes:

• Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven
• Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max
• Luca Diaz as Mike
• Ej (Elisha) Williams as Lucas
• Braxton Quinney as Dustin
• Ben Plessala as Will
• Brett Gipson as Hopper
• The voice cast also includes Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips in unconfirmed roles.

How Does Tales From ’85 Fit Into Stranger Things?

Stranger Things Season 2 took place around Halloween 1984, and ended with Eleven closing the gate to the Upside Down, although the finale teased the return of the Mind Flayer despite that. Season 3 primarily takes place in the summer of 1985, with that aforementioned Mind Flayer tease being paid off. The new spinoff show takes place in early 1985, with the footage clearly revealing that it’s set during the winter, and notably features the gang having to face off against more Upside Down-related threats.

This should be a relatively simple enough expansion, but it does carry the risk of plot holes. There’s seemingly no mention of these events in Stranger Things Season 3, after all, since the animated show did not exist then, and that’s where the spinoff has to be careful. It needs to find the balance between having dramatic enough stakes that it feels like a worthwhile entry into the show’s canon, but without being too big that it becomes bizarre that whatever transpires was never brought up again.

If Tales From ’85 is a success, then it could provide an easy way for Netflix to continue telling stories about everyone’s favorite Stranger Things characters. There’s an approximate eight month gap between Season 3 and Season 4, while Season 5 is expected to have a time jump of around 18 months. So if the streamer wanted future seasons, there’s plenty of room in the timeline for more of these stories – although, again, it increases the risk of inconsistencies.

This will also very likely just be the beginning of Stranger Things spinoffs, whatever form they take. As per Variety‘s interview with the Duffer Brothers in October 2025, there is a spinoff that they’re involved in (but won’t be showrunning), and while there’ll be some “connective tissue,” it won’t feature any of the show’s main characters. Season 5’s finale is designed to be a complete story for those, and the Upside Down as a whole, so it’ll be interesting to see exactly what happens in the future.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 will premiere on Netflix in 2026. Stranger Things Season 5, Vol. 1 releases on Thanksgiving. Vol. 2 comes on Christmas Day, followed by Vol. 3 on New Year’s Eve.

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