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Stranger Things Tales From ’85: Hawkins Faces a New Threat
- TalkTeaV
- 13 hours ago
- 2 min read
Netflix sets animated return to 1985 with a winter mystery
Eleven and the Hawkins gang reunite in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. Courtesy of Netflix
Snow has returned to Hawkins, and things are far from settled. Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 arrives on Netflix April 23, 2026, and for the first time, the story moves into animation. Set in the winter of 1985, the series follows Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max as a new mystery quietly takes shape in their hometown.
The animated series is led by showrunner and executive producer Eric Robles. The Duffer Brothers, along with Hilary Leavitt, Shawn Levy, and Dan Cohen, also serve as executive producers. The animation is produced by Flying Bark.
According to Robles, in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum, the goal is to make viewers feel that the stakes are real. “We want the audience to feel that these kids are in danger, the stakes are real, and bad things can happen to anyone,” he said. He also noted that the team was able to “freeze time” and tell new adventures set within this familiar timeline.
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Character posters for Stranger Things Tales From ’85 show the Hawkins crew returning in animated form alongside newcomer Nikki Baxter. Top row: Will Byers voiced by Ben Plessala, Max Mayfield voiced by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Lucas Sinclair voiced by Elisha EJ Williams, and Mike Wheeler voiced by Luca Diaz. Bottom row: Nikki Baxter voiced by Odessa A’zion, Eleven voiced by Brooklyn Davey Norstedt, and Dustin Henderson voiced by Braxton Quinney. Image courtesy of Netflix.
The story picks up after the events of Season 2 and before Season 3 of the original series. Hawkins appears calm, with the kids returning to Dungeons and Dragons and everyday routines. But beneath the snow, a new threat begins to surface. The group must work together once more to figure out what is happening and protect their town.
The voice cast includes Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha EJ Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Brett Gipson as Hopper, and Jeremy Jordan as Steve.
Odessa A’zion joins as Nikki Baxter, a new character described by showrunner Eric Robles as a “super punk rock” transfer student who arrives just as strange events begin to surface. In an interview with Netflix’s Tudum, Robles said Nikki serves as the audience’s point of view. She enters Hawkins with her own struggles and must quickly make sense of what she sees.
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