Netflix has pulled the curtain back on Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, the upcoming animated series set between Seasons 2 and 3 of the hit show.
We have a release date, April 23, 2026, a new trailer, below, new images and art, and further voice actor confirmation.
Here’s the story setup:
Return to Hawkins with Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, an exciting new animated series from Showrunner Eric Robles and Executive Producers the Duffer Brothers. 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.
Something from the Upside Down must have survived…
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, a new animated series, premieres April 23. pic.twitter.com/7lwtOsU0wr
— Netflix (@netflix) February 2, 2026
In the trailer, the main characters from the show encounter what looks like a sort of pumpkin monster. It evolves into a more terrifying creature. We’re told something from the Upside Down survived last year — a reference to prior events in the Stranger Things timeline.
“We get to spend time with these kids in a way that you did not have time to in the flagship series,” commented showrunner and executive producer Eric Robles. “We were able to freeze time and really go on these never before told adventures with them in this timeline.”
Of course, given fans know the events that follow those we see in Tales From ‘85, there is a risk of a lack of stakes here. But Robles insisted that wasn’t the case.
“We want the audience to feel that these kids are in danger, the stakes are real, and bad things can happen to anyone,” Robles said. “And things do happen that are very scary in a sense, so that really makes the danger for the kids that much more tangible.”
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 features the main characters from Stranger Things itself, but they’re voiced by new actors. Today, Netflix confirmed Jeremy Jordan as the voice of Steve. Jordan is the voice of Lucifer Morningstar in the adult animated musical series Hazbin Hotel.
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 voice cast:
- Brooklyn Davey Norstedt is Eleven
- Jolie Hoang-Rappaport is Max
- Luca Diaz as Mike
- Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas
- Braxton Quinney as Dustin
- Benjamin Plessala as Will
- Brett Gipson as Hopper
- Jeremy Jordan as Steve
- Odessa A’zion
- Janeane Garofalo
- Lou Diamond Phillips
Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85 comes hot on the heels of Stranger Things Season 5’s dramatic and controversial ending, which wrapped up the main characters’ stories for good (at least, according to creators the Duffer Brothers). The Duffers have ruled out a Stranger Things sequel that would check in on the characters years later, saying it would be “a gross cash grab.” As well as Tales From ‘85, there is an unnamed live-action series spinoff also in the works. We don’t know much about it, but we do know it will address a plot thread left dangling in the Season 5 finale.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
