Netflix announces Other Worlds, a live-action Stranger Things prequel set in 1955

Netflix announced on Friday (6), on Stranger Things Day, a new live-action series in the Stranger Things universe. Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure is a prequel set in Marion, Nevada, on April 19, 1955, due to premiere in 2028.

The announcement came with a short teaser: a bicycle abandoned beside a radio playing "Sh-Boom", a 1950s doo-wop classic, in front of a restricted-area sign, as a disturbance forms in the sky. The line that closes the video sums up the premise: "Before Hawkins, there was Marion."

The series is co-created by the Duffer Brothers, creators of the original show, and Kate Trefry, a Stranger Things writer and the author of the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Trefry will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer. Joe Wright, director of Atonement and Darkest Hour, directs the first three episodes and also executive produces.

Other Worlds takes place decades before the original series — and even before the play, set in 1959. According to the creators, the story will explore the events leading up to Henry Creel — the future Vecna — being exposed to the substance that gave him his powers, with new characters, themes and mythology. No cast members have been announced yet.

Production is set to take place in New Mexico, with filming reportedly expected to begin in 2027. It is the franchise's second television spin-off, after the animated Stranger Things: Tales from '85, released in 2026.

What we know — and what is still a mystery

Other Worlds arrives after the original series ended in late 2025, after five seasons between 2016 and 2025. The franchise had already expanded with the animated Stranger Things: Tales from '85, released in 2026, and the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, running since 2023.

For now, Netflix has not revealed the cast, the exact premiere date or plot details beyond the setting and the time period. The teaser suggests a mysterious incident in Marion, but it shows no characters and does not confirm the nature of the phenomenon in the sky — fans will have to wait for the next announcements.

Featured image: frame from the official teaser for Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, by Netflix, via YouTube.

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