‘Stranger Things’ Creators Shoot Down Hopes of Sequel Series

Stranger Things has definitively come to an end and, while we know there are multiple expansions of the series on the way, creators Matt and Ross Duffer have shot down at least one rumored follow-up and confirmed they won’t develop a sequel spin-off that brings back the original cast members. Given the nature of the mythology and with it only being a week since the series finale, we can’t rule out fan-favorite actors returning in future spin-offs, but the creators sound quite confident that they aren’t interested in merely letting a decade go by to reunite these characters for another outing.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Duffer directly addressed the possibility of a revival series further down the line:

“We really don’t know. I mean, Mike’s closing the basement door. We’re closing the door on the story. That’s one reason we had the closing credits the way we did, because it was a way of saying: ‘This is finite. This is the end of their story. It’s the end of the story of Mike and Eleven and Joyce and Hopper.’ So, no, there’s no plan or intention to tell the story because it’s a coming-of age story. Ultimately, that’s what it’s supposed to be. That’s what the show always was. When he closes the door to the basement, he’s closing the door on his childhood and he’s moving onto adulthood.”

No “Grandpa Hopper” in ‘Stranger Things’ Future

Stranger Things debuted in 2016 and has occupied a large chunk of the creators’ lives, so while they aren’t abandoning the mythology entirely, they are clearly excited about moving on from Hawkins, Indiana. While the upcoming spin-off Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 will spend more time with the younger characters from the series, Matt Duffer confessed that he thinks planning a sequel series feels like a “cash grab” and, with a live-action spin-off on the way, avoided teasing which characters, if any, could appear in that project:

“I mean, I guess a sequel could be about a midlife crisis. That just sounds really uninteresting! (Laughs.) Grandpa Hopper? I don’t know how that would read as anything but a gross cash grab to me. I wish I could talk a little bit more about the [live-action] spin-off, but I’m not allowed to yet. But Ross and I are really excited about exploring new characters and a new mythology, but still very much are interested in telling a story in the spirit of Stranger Things. It feels like with this final season, we finished saying everything we wanted to say about these characters, this story and the Upside Down.”

This latest update might disappoint some fans of the series who have to come to terms with leaving these characters behind, but it also raises the question of what defines Stranger Things and its mythology once beloved characters and the Upside Down are removed from the equation.