Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85’ Series To Release In 2026

As part of Netflix’s animation slate presentation at the Annecy Festival on Wednesday, the streamer debuted the first footage from the Duffer Brothers’ animated series spin-off, Stranger Things: Tales of ’85.

First announced in 2023, the sizzle reel presentation featured the Duffers on-camera introducing the inspiration for the series which goes back to their childhood love of genre Saturday morning cartoons like the Tim Burton-developed Beetlejuice that ran from 1989 to 1991 and The Real Ghostbusters which ran from 1986 to 1991.

However, unlike those namechecked 2d animated shows, Stranger Things: Tales of ’85 is very much a cg animated series, akin to the look of high end cutscenes in a video game, with 2d painterly stylization to give it a similar look to Netflix’s animated series Arcane.

The animated series, said to be canon and taking place between season two and season three of Netflix’s live-action Stranger Things series, features new adventures involving Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Max, Eleven and the new character Nikki Baxter who is described as a “tinker” who helps the gang as they battle a “new breed” of vine monster summoned from the Upside Down.

The sizzle reel featured a montage of scenes featuring various groupings of the main gang, a first-look at newbie Nikki, a quick scene with a very agitated Chief Jim Hopper, and an exterior look at the notorious Hawkins Laboratory which was a major setting for season two of the live-action series. The voice cast is unconfirmed but the voices sounded like a mix of original cast and new voice actors filling in for other characters like Hopper.

Lots of images are already popping up online, but it should be noted that none of those are official as Netflix has not released any artwork from the show outside of the sneak peek at Annecy. No release date has been given either, though Netflix said in today’s presentation that the series will premiere in 2026.

Stranger Things: Tales of ’85 is executive produced by Eric Robles (Fanboy & Chum Chum), the Duffer Brothers on behalf of Upside Down Pictures, and Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen at 21 Laps. The animation provider is Flying Bark Productions, which is also working on Paramount Animation’s upcoming feature The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender.