In a surprising move announced on Stranger Things Day, Netflix officially unveiled the first look at its new animated series project. According to Screenrant, the upcoming series in question will be named Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. and will filled the gap of the events between the second and third season. One thing that immediately drew viewers into the spin-off is the unique art style that the production team will be using to capture the supernatural atmosphere.

Stated by Screenrant, the most significant change is the recasting of the iconic roles with Eleven, voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt (WeCrashed), Mike, played Luca Diaz  (Transformer: Earthspark, Migration), Will, by Ben Plessala (Castlevania: Nocturne, The Sea Beast), Duustin, played by Braxton Quinney (Bigger, You Can’t Take My Daughter), Lucas, played by Elisha Williams (The Wonder Years, Henry Danger) and Max, voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (In Your Dreams, The Monkey King) battling new creatures form the upside down.

Additional members that will be included are Brett Gipson (Station 19, Shameless)as Jim Hoopper, Odessa A’zion (Until Dawn, Hellraiseer), Janeane Garofalo (Mystery Men, Reality Bite) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Werewolves, Young Guns), whose roles have yet to be announced.

Even though the decision of a cast change have shocked fans, this allows the franchise to expand creatively in the animated format. The series creator Matt (Hidden, Wayward Pines) and Ross Duffer (Eater, Road to Moloch) goes on to explain to Screenrant that animated spinoff was one of their first ideas on continuing the iconic franchise. They also ensured that the animated spinoff will stay on course and remains rooted in the official timeline.

Reported by Screenrant, while fans await on the animated series which has a 2026 release, all current seasons of the original Stranger Things series are available on Netflix with the final season finale set for December 31.