Well, what do you know? I thought Stranger Things 4 would be the end. It was not. Then came the long-overdue Stranger Things 5 that would be the series finale. It was, except that the executives over at Netflix are still holding on to the ghost, or in this case, the creatures from the Upside Down, and hence we have, believe it or not, the animated version of Stranger Things. Yes, really!
The newly released trailer for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, as it is so titled, puts Hawkins back in motion again. The story takes place during the winter of 1985, somewhere between Seasons 2 and 3, with the gang back on their bikes, radios in hand, heading toward another problem they definitely did not ask for.
The look of the show borrows from the Saturday-morning cartoons of the same era that the original series has always loved referencing. The colors are louder, the movement is sharper, and everything feels faster without losing that familiar Hawkins tension. Snow falls, something shifts where it should not, and before long, the town is dealing with another visitor from the wrong side of reality.
There is also a new addition to the group. Nikki Baxter, a punk-rock transfer student, joins the lineup and looks fully prepared to throw herself into whatever mess the Upside Down delivers next. Hawkins has survived worse, but extra backup never hurts.
What stands out most from the trailer is how natural this version of Stranger Things feels. Same town. Same friendships. Same trouble. Just animated this time.
Turns out leaving Hawkins behind is harder than anyone thought. Even Netflix cannot quite do it. If you are a fan who is inconsolable, I guess this is good news. Anyhoo, here’s the trailer:
Images: Netflix.
