Warning: spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 5
The dust has barely settled on Stranger Things, but that hasn't stopped the massive milking machine of Netflix from rumbling forward. For nearly a decade, the dice-rolling adventurers of the Party kept us entertained as the residents of Hawkins had to battle the death and destruction of Demogorgons and Vecna.
Giving a dash of nostalgia that we got from the Amblin movies of the '80s, Stranger Things' period setting also proved to be a hit among fans as the series became a sci-fi staple for Netflix.
All good things have to come to an end, and while there's been plenty of backlash against Stranger Things season 5, at least the final run of episodes tied off most of those dangling plot threads with a neat bow.
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With an IP this big, the streaming giant was never going to leave things here. We already knew an animated Stranger Things spin-off was on the way in the form of Tales from '85, but less was known about a mysterious live-action spin-off that's due to be helmed by Matt and Ross Duffer themselves.
Although some think the franchise should be left to rest for a while, the Duffers have given us an exciting update on their return to the Upside Down. They should have a little more free time, especially after their next Netflix project was given the boot.
Speaking to Variety, Matt Duffer confirmed one seemingly throwaway part of the series finale will become crucial to the spin-off. Journalist Kate Aurthur asked about the glowing rock that Henry Creel finds in a suitcase. Although it proves crucial in Creel's transformation into Vecna, season 5 left a lot of questions. When she implored Matt Duffer to expand on what the rock is, he confirmed: "I’m gonna be sketchy here, Kate, because I will say that is — can I say this, Ross? Because it’s just hard to not say it."
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When pushed on whether it was 'spinoffy', he was surprisingly candid and continued: "Spinoffy, yeah. You pinned us down. So annoying. 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. But it’s a completely different mythology. So it’s not a deep exploration of the Mind Flayer or anything like that. It’s very fresh and very new, but yes, it will answer some of the loose threads that are remaining."
We know that the spin-off will be set in a new locale and will be in a different decade to the '80s setting of the main series. Even though we're going to find out more about the rock, that doesn't mean we'll get a deeper dive into Vecna's origin story
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Given that Jamie Campbell Bower was considered a standout, the idea of bringing him back might've been a popular possibility.
Then again, the canonical Stranger Things: The First Shadow stage play already fleshed out some of this when it revealed that the glowing rock contained dark particles from Dimension X. There's also the fact that Matt Duffer reiterated there are "no common characters" in the spin-off, suggesting that we really are telling a wholly new story.
Saying that work is about to officially kick off on the next chapter, Duffer concluded: "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."