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'Stranger Things: Tales from 85' trailer brings new evil to Hawkins

The fans will return to Hawkins for the first time after an epic season 5 finale on December 31

Netflix dropped the trailer of 'Stranger Things: Tales from '85', the much-awaited spinoff from the 'Stranger Things' universe. The animated series takes the world back to Hawkins with a new and untold story featuring the main characters. The fans will return to the town for the first time after an epic season 5 finale on December 31.

The teaser sees Mike show up on Eleven's doorstep, and having a tense conversation with Hopper. This is followed by the gang in his basement plotting their next  D&D campaign. At the other end, a new evil stops them, and what follows is a gritty battle as they look to solve the mystery of the creature's appearance. The new series sees the Duffer Brothers return with EP's Shawn Levy, along with showrunner Eric Robles.

The official logline reads: "In the winter of 1985, snow blankets the town, and the horrors of the Upside Down are finally fading. Our heroes Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days. But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down? From the depths of Hawkins Lab? Or from somewhere else entirely? Our heroes must race to solve this mystery and save Hawkins in this untold story set in the Stranger Things universe."

The voice cast sees Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, Brett Gipson as Hopper, and Jeremy Jordan as Steve. Additional voice cast includes Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips.

Earlier, 'Stranger Things' creators Matt and Ross Duffer and EP Shawn Levy teased the spinoff. “You’re not getting a watered-down continuation of the show you’ve watched and loved. You’re getting a different tone, a different visual style," Levy told THR. "It’s filling in the blanks of mythology and timeline that you’ve never gotten in what we call ‘the mothership,’ the original show. The Duffers loved a certain style of ‘80s and ‘90s all-family audience animation and cartoons, and this show is made in the spirit of that. So it’s not ‘Stranger Things, but animated,’ it’s very much its own tone and style."

"We’re very early days on a live-action spinoff. But this is the end of the story for these characters of Hawkins, for the Upside Down," Ross told the outlet. "It’s a different decade and different characters, but of course, still connected to the Stranger Things universe. It’s an idea we’ve had for years and something we’re just really excited and passionate about. We won’t be showrunning that show, but we’ll be heavily involved. So, as the new year comes around, we’re going to start spending more time on that. Hopefully it’s something announced soon-ish."

'Stranger Things: Tales from '85' drops April 23, 2026, on Netflix.