Duffer Brothers Announce Stranger Things Prequel for 2028 and Tease a Mystery They're 'Not Allowed' To Reveal

Netflix has announced a new live-action Stranger Things prequel, with Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure scheduled to take the franchise back to Nevada in 2028. Unveiled on 6 November, the project was created by Matt and Ross Duffer alongside Kate Trefry, a longtime franchise writer who will serve as showrunner and co-creator. Its teaser places the story in Marion, Nevada, on 19 April 1955.

The announcement coincided with Stranger Things Day, held each year on 6 November to mark the fictional date Will Byers disappeared from Hawkins, Indiana, in 1983, in the episode titled The Vanishing of Will Byers. The prequel moves the story away from the familiar town and into an earlier decade. It is also set before Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the stage production that examines Henry Creel's past in Hawkins in 1959.

Netflix's teaser gives little away about the new series. It shows a bicycle lying near a restricted area, with a radio playing nearby, before lightning illuminates the sky. The title card identifies the date and location, while the closing line places the story before Hawkins. Netflix has not announced a cast or published a full plot synopsis.

Unanswered Questions About Henry Creel's Nevada Discovery

The project will revisit at least one question left open by the original series. In its fifth season, young Henry Creel discovers a mysterious glowing rock in the Nevada caves. The sequence also raises questions about a scientist who died there, but leaves the circumstances of his presence and the rock's origins unexplained.

Matt Duffer told Entertainment Weekly that the prequel would eventually address those questions. He cautioned against assuming that the Mind Flayer would be the series' central subject, saying the new project would develop its own mythology. The Nevada discovery provides a link to the original show, but the creators have indicated that Other Worlds is intended to tell a substantially different story.

The Duffer Brothers have offered little more about the plot. Their announcement statement described a different setting and new heroes and villains before adding that they were not permitted to reveal further details. Casting information has not yet been released.

Kate Trefry and Joe Wright Lead the Prequel's Creative Team

Trefry will serve as showrunner, co-creator and writer. She also wrote the script for The First Shadow. Joe Wright, whose films include Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour, will direct the first three episodes and executive produce.

Production will take place in New Mexico, Netflix confirmed. The executive producing team also includes the Duffer Brothers through Upside Down Pictures, Shawn Levy through 21 Laps, Paul Dichter, Shelley Meals, Andrea Sperling and Pavlina Hatoupis.

The series follows two previous extensions of the franchise. The First Shadow brought Henry Creel's earlier story to the stage, while animated series Stranger Things: Tales From '85 follows the Hawkins group in winter 1985. Both seasons of the animated series are now streaming, alongside all five seasons of the original programme.

The First Shadow is approaching its final performances. Netflix lists 27 December 2026 as the closing date for the West End production and 3 January 2027 for its Broadway run.