Stranger Things ended with season 5 at the end of 2025, but the sci-fi franchise is far from over at Netflix, and the streaming service has just brought back fan-favorite characters with a different cast in new episodes. Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s most popular TV shows of all time, being one of the few to achieve a rare feat.
That would be to have two seasons on Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows of all time list, with both Stranger Things seasons 4 and 5, the sci-fi series’ final two, charting. That is a clear indicator that not only is Stranger Things wildly popular, but the show’s popularity grew over the course of the series, as its two final seasons are Stranger Things‘ only entries in the all-time Netflix chart.
Based on that, it was clear that Netflix was never letting go of the potential the hit sci-fi franchise has. Multiple Stranger Things spin-offs were put in development to explore different avenues for how the universe could continue. While there are no projects right now meant to bring back Stranger Things‘ original actors, the characters they played have already returned.
Stranger Things season 5 was released in three different parts, with the final piece of the puzzle arriving on December 31. Less than a year after the show ended, well not even six months later, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 debuted on Netflix on April 23. In a lot of ways, the animated series was the perfect follow-up to Stranger Things, but with it comes a seismic change that viewers will now have to get used to again.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Takes Time To Get Used To
After season 1’s debut in April, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 has just returned with season 2 on Netflix this Thursday, September 17. As such, Netflix subscribers will need to adjust once more to the fact that while Stranger Things‘ most popular characters are back for a new adventure, they are not played by their original characters. Yes, Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Hopper, Steve, Nancy, and more appear in Netflix’s first Stranger Things spin-off. However, all the show’s characters are voiced by different actors, with not even a single star from the original series returning to reprise their role.
This could throw off some fans of the franchise at first, given how the actors made the characters who they were in a lot of ways. That said, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 makes the characters not only look exactly like their live-action counterparts, but the new cast also nails their personalities. In fact, I will go as far as to say that a few of these characters are having some of their best seasons in the franchise through this new cast and dynamic. Since they are younger, as the show takes place between Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3, the recast makes sense.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Could End With The Perfect Returns
While actors like Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Luca Diaz as Mike Wheeler, and more return to voice the iconic Stranger Things characters in the newly released Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 season 2, doing a phenomenal job in the roles as the Hawkins Investigators Club, which includes the show’s new original character Nikki Baxter (Odessa A’zion), tackles a new case, many fans are still hoping to see the original cast return in the future. I believe there could be a neat way to actually get the original cast to appear in the animated spin-off.
After how many seasons are needed to finish this new story in the Stranger Things franchise and explain why Nikki never appears or is not mentioned in the original series, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 could jump forward in time to have the characters as adults, perhaps with Eleven already (presumed) dead, and have them reunite with Nikki if she is still alive.
This would give actors like Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, and Sadie Sink a chance to voice their characters again in a cameo role. As far as a live-action Stranger Things sequel series with the original cast, The Duffer Brothers have already said that is not part of their plans for the franchise, at least for now.
- Release Date
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April 23, 2026
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Eric Robles
- Directors
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Phil Allora, JJ Conway, Ben Choi
- Writers
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ChatGPT, Dan Milano, Ray Utarnachitt, Jennifer Muro, Chad Quandt, Chris Wyatt, Kevin Burke, Jen Bardekoff, Joshua Pruett
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Brooklyn Davey Norstedt
Eleven (voice)
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Jolie Hoang-Rappaport
Max (voice)
