Stranger Things creators say spinoff is developing “parallel” to season 5

Volume 1 of Stranger Things 4 is out now on Netflix, with the final two episodes in Volume 2 dropping this Friday to finish off the epic season. The show has always been a big hit for Netflix, but this season in particular feels exceptionally huge, what with the years of build-up after season 3 and the mega-long episode lengths.

We’ve known for a while now that Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer have some ideas for spinoffs of the ’80s paranormal horror series, but they’ve been keeping the details under tight wraps. However, in a recent interview with Variety, the Duffer Brothers dropped one of the most interesting teases about the Stranger Things spinoff yet.

Not even Netflix knows what the Stranger Things spinoff is about

“There’s a version of it developing in parallel [to Season 5], but they would never shoot it parallel,” Ross Duffer said, when asked if he and his brother were going to wait until after the mothership show’s fifth and final season was finished to start work on the spinoff. “I think actually we’re going to start delving into that soon as we’re winding down and finishing these visual effects, Matt and I are going to start getting into it.”

“The reason we haven’t done anything is just because you don’t want to be doing it for the wrong reasons, and it was just like, ‘Is this something I would want to make regardless of it being related to Stranger Things or not?’” Matt explained. “And definitely. Even if we took the Stranger Things title off of it, I’m so, so excited about it. But it is not… It’s going to be different than what anyone is expecting, including Netflix.”

Finn Wolfhard (Mike) knows what the Stranger Things spinoff is about

However, there is one person who already knows what the Stranger Things spinoff is about: Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, correctly guessed the spinoff idea.

“Finn Wolfhard,” Ross added, “he wasn’t spitballing, he just went, ‘I think this would be a cool spin-off. And we were like, ‘How in the world…'”

Matt attributed Wolfhard’s uncanny ability to guess the Stranger Things spinoff idea to his own burgeoning vision as a young director. Wolfhard wrote and directed the short film Night Shifts in 2020, and is currently working on directing his first feature-length film, a “horror-comedy-slasher movie that takes place at a camp,” according to NME.

“[Finn Wolfhard’s] short film is really good,” Matt Duffer said. “I think he’s gonna be a really talented director.”

While Stranger Things spinoffs may be a while off still, Volume 2 of season 4, which includes the whopping two-and-a-half hour season finale, drops July 1 on Netflix.

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