Netflix turns to theatres to launch Stranger Things animated spin‑off

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 is executive produced by the franchise's creators Matt and Ross Duffer. Read more at straitstimes.com.

LOS ANGELES - Netflix is inviting fans back into the supernatural world of Stranger Things (2016 to 2025) with limited theatrical screenings of its upcoming animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, the streaming platform announced on March 17.

It said select AMC theatres will host special screenings of the first two episodes beginning April 18, ahead of the show’s global release on April 23.

The screenings will take place in 34 theatres across the United States, as well as at the Paris Theater in New York and Netflix House Philadelphia.

The animated series reunites Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer as executive producers, alongside showrunner Eric Robles, best known for creating the animated Nickelodeon series Fanboy & Chum Chum (2009 to 2014).

Set in the winter of 1985, Tales From ’85 finds Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas and Max having settled back into something resembling normal life – filled with Dungeons & Dragons games, snowball fights and quiet days in Hawkins, Indiana. But peace is short-lived, as something terrifying awakens, forcing the group to band together once more to solve a mystery and save their town.

It marks the latest expansion of the Stranger Things universe, which has continued to grow since the Duffers launched their production company Upside Down Pictures in 2022 under an overall deal with Netflix. That agreement also includes a planned live-action Stranger Things spin-off series.