Record-breaking show, spin-off, upcoming stage play and now into the world of animation - the Stranger Things franchise continues to dominate from here to the Upside Down, with Variety reporting today that an animated series of Netflix's smash sci-fi hit is in the works.
According to Variety, “nearly all details about the show are being kept under wraps", but they did reveal that the upcoming show was developed by Eric Robles (Random! Cartoons, Fanboy & Chum Chum, and Glitch Techs) and Flying Bark Productions.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer will executive produce via Upside Down Pictures, along with Robles and Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps. The Duffer brothers expressed their excitement in a statement:
“We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling [...] We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with — the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you! The adventure continues…”
Upside Down Pictures and 21 Laps are currently under overall deals at Netflix, with the animated series presumably part of the brothers' expanded slate with the streaming titan. As mentioned earlier, further expansions to the story of Hawkins include an upcoming Stranger Things spin-off based on an 'original idea' and The First Shadow, the West End stage play from Stephen Daldry.
The sad news behind all of this great news is, of course, that the OG Stranger Things is coming up to its fifth and final season after seven years of being one of Netflix's most popular and profitable shows. While we'll miss the original Hawkins gang, we're excited to see what the franchise has in store with these future projects. Stay tuned for updates on the animated series as we get them.
