Since Stranger Things: Tales From 85 was first announced back in 2023, no one knew what would come first: the fifth season or the cartoon. It turned out both took an incredibly long time to finish, but the live-action show made it over the line just before the animated show did. Today turned out to be the day Netflix gave us a look at the latter.
The series is set between seasons two and three, which is really the only time you could set something like this: it’s a time when everyone is in a good position and nobody is cliffhung in any kind of predicament. “In the winter of 1985, snow blankets the town and the horrors of the Upside Down are finally fading,” Netflix describes. “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?”
I would offer commentary, but I just spent the entire weekend and over 7,000 words describing what Stranger Things means to me, so…forgive me for passing a link because I feel exhausted. I’m darn proud of that essay, actually, so even if it takes you over a half-hour to read based on this site’s estimate, you should check it out…and leave a comment! I’d appreciate it.
Stranger Things: Tales From 85 mainly follows the kid characters, who are younger than we’ve gotten used to, so the original actors can’t voice them anymore. Actually all the voices have been replaced, including the grown-ups, so it’s more like Netflix is cheap. The cast includes Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, EJ (Elisha) Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, Brett Gipson as Hopper, and newly revealed with the trailer below, Jeremy Jordan as Steve. Unidentified roles include Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo and Lou Diamond Phillips. We feel fairly confident Garofalo is going to be Joyce.
Soon you can travel back and pretend the finale didn’t happen with Stranger Things: Tales From 85, coming April 23. The current number of seasons it’s intended for is unknown.
