This article contains mild spoilers for Stranger Things season five.
No, there will be no more trips to the Upside Down.
Despite the online theory gaining continuous traction that Stranger Things season five did not actually come to an end with episode eight—and that instead there would be a surprise seventh episode released on Jan. 7 turning everything once again, well, upside down—Netflix has finally set the record straight.
As of the morning of Jan. 7, the bios for the official Stranger Things social media accounts read, “ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING.”
So, despite the conviction of many fans that the series conclusion was almost too good to be true—in a movement dubbed Conformity Gate online—Stranger Things as we know it is, indeed, concluded.
But that doesn’t mean the Stranger Things universe is done. In fact, there are a number of spinoff projects in the works. Not only will a documentary titled One Last Adventure, chronicling the making of season five, release on Jan. 12, but there are two more projects heading fans’ way.
Future Spinoffs
The first is an animated series coming sometime this year called Stranger Things: Tales of ’85. The show will take place in between seasons two and three of the original series, following characters Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield (played by new voice actors) as they work to unravel the mysteries of the Upside Down.
The second is an unnamed, live-action series for which details are scarce—though Stranger Things creators Ross Duffer and Matt Duffer have promised the project will answer some lingering questions left at the end of season five. For instance, what exactly happened with Henry Creel a.k.a Vecna in that cave that gave him his powers, connecting him to Dimension X’s Mind Flayer?
"I do want to explain, just because people's expectations go in certain directions: The spinoff is going to delve into that and explain that, and you're going to understand it," Matt told Variety in an interview published Jan. 1. "But it's a completely different mythology."
"So it's not a deep exploration of the Mind Flayer or anything like that," he emphasized. "It's very fresh and very new, but yes, it will answer some of the loose threads that are remaining."
But despite the connection to the original series, don’t expect to see actors Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink or Gaten Matarazzo make an appearance in the spinoff, which the brothers confirmed they’re still writing.
"No common characters," Matt confirmed. "We're actually really excited, and it's very exciting to work with a clean slate: completely new characters, new town, new world, new mythology."
30 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Stranger Things
But while the new series promise new information about how the Upside Down and Dimension X came to be, there are plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets of Stranger Things to tide fans over. Read on for more.
1. After working on M. Night Shyamalan's Fox series
Wayward Pines, brother writing duo Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer came up with the concept for
Stranger Things, though it was initially called
Montauk. "It's very hard when your brain is latched onto a title, it's really, really hard to get people to agree and accept another title," Matt told The Daily Beast in 2016. "Initially when we came up with this title
Stranger Things, it was hard for people to embrace."
2. The Duffers envisioned filming the series on Long Island, but it ultimately proved to be too challenging. "We liked Montauk, because we liked the coastal setting... Then it was really going to be impossible to shoot in or around Long Island in the wintertime. It was just going to be miserable and expensive." Atlanta ultimately became the home base for production.
3. Before Netflix picked up the series, almost 20 networks passed on the project, according to Vulture, with executives believing audiences would not be able to invest in a show starring four children.
4. To play Eleven, then 12-year-old Millie Bobby Brown had to say goodbye to her hair. "The day I shaved my head was the most empowering moment of my whole life," she reflected.
5. She drew inspiration from Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road, as well as costar Winona Ryder's old yearbook photos.
6. The British actress revealed she turned to a surprising source to perfect her American accent: Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana. "It's so good... I got the American accent."
7. To find their four main kids, the Duffer brothers had the young actors audition with scenes from
Stand By Me.
8. When it came to finding their Mike, the brothers had a different idea for the character. That is, until Finn Wolfhard auditioned. "Originally Mike was a sigher, he was a dreamer... But Finn had this really anxious, twitchy energy about him."
9. Another actor who influenced his character was Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin. As Matt explained, "He started out more like a stereotypical nerd and then we met Gaten and we basically tailored the show to him."
10. Thanks to Eleven's affinity for Eggo waffles, Kellogg's saw a significant increase in sales after the show. Consumption was up 14 percent in late 2017 after season two was released.
11. In early 2018, David Harbour went viral after he fulfilled a fan's request to take her senior portraits with her.
12. Later that year, Harbour was once again up to his social media shenanigans, this time officiating a viewer's wedding dressed as Chief Hopper.
13. Many fans theorized that Eleven could be Hopper's daughter. In a sweet Easter egg, Eleven was seen wearing the blue braided bracelet Hopper always wore, made from his late daughter's hair ribbon.
14. Eleven's season one kiss with Mike was Millie's first kiss ever. "It was a strange experience," she admitted.
15. And when the pair had to smooch again the following season, she revealed what her costar whispered in her ear: "I'm coming in."
16. Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, who play love interests Nancy and Jonathan, began dating in 2016, but have mostly kept their relationship private.
17. Believe it or not, Joe Keery's well-coiffed Steve Harrington was not supposed to make it out of season one alive. But, "we fell in love with him," Ross told The Hollywood Reporter.
18. Also slated to perish was Eleven. "Eleven was going to sacrifice herself to save the day... But once we realized that the show was potentially going to go on longer than one season, we needed to leave it more up in the air."
19. The seventh episode of season two—titled "The Lost Sister"—almost never made it to air, with the Duffer brothers concerned it would break up the story's pacing.
20. Eleven's sibling was written to be a boy, with the episode originally titled "The Lost Brother." But Linnea Berthelsen landed the part.
21. Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan initially auditioned for the role of Robin before booking the role of Penelope Featherington years later.
22. Before playing Sarah on Netflix's Outer Banks, Madelyn Cline appeared in season two as Hawkins High school mean girl Tina.
23. To win the part of Billy, Australian actor Dacre Montgomery filmed a fun, yet slightly raunchy, audition tape dancing to 80s songs in a G-string.
24. Heading into season three, the cast received major pay increases, with the younger cast going from about $30,000 per episode to more than $200,000 per episode.
25. While Priah Ferguson was intended to only appear in one episode in season two as Erica, she was made a series regular the following season.
26. Given that the younger cast was still growing, the wardrobe department bought shoes in multiple sizes. "We'd buy five of them so that when somebody grew we'd have something."
27. While the Duffers were paying homage to The Goonies, E.T., and Stand By Me, they were cautious not to be too overt in their references in the writers' room.
28. The creative team set out to use as little special effects as possible to achieve a throwback feel, but quickly learned how difficult practical effects were to execute on a TV schedule.
29. When they first pitched the show, the Duffers always envisioned a five-season arc.
30. While an ending for Stranger Things has been set, the Duffer brothers have an idea for a spin-off that is "very, very different." Aside from Finn Wolfhard who guessed it, no one else knows!
