5 Stranger Things Spin-Offs We Want To See After The Series Finale

After five seasons and close to a decade, "Stranger Things" has ended — and of course, there are spin-off plans in place. Netflix has figured out how to keep "Stranger Things" going forever if needed, courtesy of the upcoming animated series "Stranger Things: Tales from '85." Finn Wolfhard (who plays Mike Wheeler) has also divulged some details about what a "Stranger Things" spin-off would be about, hinting at David Lynch vibes and an anthology theme. Oh, and we also know for sure that the currently unannounced spin-off will absolutely not focus on the main cast, thanks to co-creator Matt Duffer's comments to The Hollywood Reporter:

"Mike's closing the basement door. We're closing the door on the story. That's one reason we had the closing credits the way we did, because it was a way of saying: 'This is finite. This is the end of their story. It's the end of the story of Mike and Eleven [Millie Bobby Brown] and Joyce [Winona Ryder] and Hopper [David Harbour].' So, no, there's no plan or intention to tell the story because it's a coming-of age story. Ultimately, that's what it's supposed to be. That's what the show always was. When he closes the door to the basement, he's closing the door on his childhood and he's moving onto adulthood."

Then again, if there's a property Netflix would really like to go all in on, it's probably "Stranger Things." The Duffer brothers might not be feeling it right now, but who knows? Let's assume that relentless pressure from the deep-pocketed streaming juggernaut will eventually convince them to Taylor Sheridan it up and open their world into spin-offs that directly expand on the original story. Should that happen, here are a few "Stranger Things" spin-off ideas that fans might very well be interested in. 

Let's start with the sneaky spin-off tease in the "Stranger Things" series finale, shall we? In the barrage of happy and bittersweet character endings, we discover that Hopper and Joyce are planning to get married and very understandably intend to move away from Hawkins. Their new home will be a town called Montauk, where Hop has been offered a better police chief gig. This is a very deliberate wink-and-nudge to the Duffer Brothers' planned proto-"Stranger Things" show "Montauk," which played with some of the same elements but was set in the titular New York town instead of Hawkins, Indiana. But what if it's also something bigger?

Despite the comments that contradict the idea, it would make all sorts of sense for the Duffers to focus the spin-off on Winona Ryder and David Harbour's characters. Ryder, in particular, rarely got her flowers on the show after season 1, as Joyce was often relegated to hand-wringing and general anxiety while more interesting storylines swirled all around her. Ryder being a Golden Globe winner and a two-time Academy Award nominee, this always seemed like a strange decision — and she might not be opposed to elevating the character in a spin-off. 

As for what this spin-off would be about, there's a chance that it could still involve elements of the "Montauk Project" conspiracy theory about secret government experiments. On the other hand, "Stranger Things" already drank from that well quite extensively, so maybe Hop and Joyce's version of "Montauk" would be something entirely different. Still, do such details really matter? Just bring back the version of Joyce who was happy to lop off Vecna's (Jamie Campbell Bower) head with an ax, and we're golden. 

One of the many unanswered questions after the "Stranger Things" series finale is what Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) got up to between the main characters' final confrontation with the military and the epilogue, where he's seen only briefly at the gang's graduation ceremony two years later. Perhaps he simply went back to everyday conspiracy theorizing and private investigating. Or perhaps, after seeing his skills in action (he exploded a military helicopter and repeatedly infiltrated Hawkins as the squad's smuggler), the government recruited him.

Goofy as he may seem, Murray is a beast of a character, with tenacity and ability to spare. Apart from that helicopter explosion, he proves to be a massive asset to everyone around him time and time again, and is a crucial part in both rescuing Hopper from the Soviet prison camp and shutting off the Upside Down. In "Stranger Things" season 4, he even busts out some surprisingly effective martial arts moves against Yuri (Nikola Đuričko), a hardened criminal and military veteran. Oh, and he has plenty of field experience, not to mention knowledge about the Upside Down and the Abyss. Murray, in other words, is the exact kind of guy the powers that be might want to keep an eye on, and perhaps even recruit into the CIA or some even more shadowy agency.

From a fan standpoint, watching Gelman Fox Mulder his way through various "Stranger Things"-adjacent scenarios as a shady government agent would be the perfect combination of hilarious and awesome. While Murray has an anti-authoritarian streak, it might even fit his character: As an ardent conspiracy theorist, he'd be tempted by a position where he can finally get some real answers.

One way that "Stranger Things" could have its Hawkins cake and eat it too was already set up in the series finale: Just hand the baton to the next generation. Nell Fisher's Holly Wheeler gets plenty of screen time in "Stranger Things" season 5, and eventually grows into the de facto leader of her own ragtag team of teens — just like his older brother Mike before him. Only, this time, the kids are already old hands at dealing with the supernatural before they begin getting into Dungeons & Dragons. 

Holly's emergence as a major character doubles as a passing of the torch moment that allows Mike and the others to move on toward adulthood. Conveniently, it also ends the show with a pre-made new gang: Holly herself, the wonderfully profane Derek Turnbow (Jake Connelly), Debbie (Eden Stephens), Mary (Calista Craig), and Josh (Anthony B. Jenkins). It would be a shame if this is the last we see of this group of friends-slash-Vecna survivors, wouldn't it? After all, when the various spies and scientists inevitably return in Hawkins to pick up the pieces and search for artifacts related to the Abyss, it'll be up to them to clean up the mess. 

Prequel shows can be very effective in the right hands — just ask "Better Call Saul." As it happens, "Stranger Things" already has plenty of pre-existing and comparatively obscure prequel lore that the Duffer brothers could potentially adapt as a spin-off series. "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" is a stage play that explores the origins of Henry "Vecna" Creel and the Upside Down through the eyes of younger versions of several pre-existing characters ... as well as Patty Newby, the sister of "Stranger Things" season 2 MVP Bob Newby (Sean Astin) and Henry's girlfriend. 

As it happens, "Stranger Things" season 5 requires knowledge of this spin-off at many points, since it alludes to events that have only been described in "The First Shadow." This might be seen as a sign that something is indeed up. It would make a lot of sense for Netflix to adapt "The First Shadow" in one way or another, and a show that focuses on the early years of the main "Stranger Things" villain would certainly be an interesting direction for the live-action leg of the franchise. 

It's hard to see the Duffer Brothers returning to the story of Eleven any time soon, given how ambiguous her ending is in the "Stranger Things" series finale. That's all right, though; they can sit on this one for quite some time and let El build a new life out there somewhere. However long it takes, a simple time skip will suffice to get the story up to speed.

The thing is, there's still a lot to explore in Eleven's story. Assuming that the survival tale that Mike weaves is true – which, in a spin-off scenario, it would obviously have to be — she's the last known psychokinetic alive, wandering the Earth to keep her powers secret from the shadowy American and Soviet military forces that would like to jump-start another cycle of supernatural nonsense with her blood. Of course, El being heroic to a fault, she'd eventually end up in a situation that will require her to use her impressive array of powers, which would attract all sorts of military and supernatural forces once more. 

With projects like the "Enola Holmes" movies, Millie Bobby Brown has shown that she can shine in a starring role. With her character's ties now quite thoroughly cut from the rest of the "Stranger Things" folks, Brown could lead the franchise in a whole new direction once again.