Set between the events of “Stranger Things” Seasons 2 and 3, “Stranger Things: Tales from ’85” showrunner Eric Robles is aiming for the animated spinoff to feel like a lost season of the flagship show.
“You could easily take this and make it the live-action version,” Robles tells Empire. “We wanted to go back to Hawkins and feel like a lost season.” He says it harks back to “when the kids weren’t trying to save the world — they were just trying to save the town.”
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Hawkins, Robles teases a Jaws-inspired creature. “It’s winter time in Hawkins. The whole town’s covered in this ocean of snow. And that brings new dangers,” he says. “I’m a huge fan of Jaws, and this became our version.”
Flying Bark Productions (“What If…?,” “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) is the animation studio behind “Tales from ’85,” which premieres April 23 on Netflix.
In the winter of 1985, snow blankets the town and the horrors of the Upside Down are finally fading. Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days.
But beneath the ice, something terrifying has awakened. Could it be from the Upside Down? From the depths of Hawkins Lab? Or from somewhere else entirely? Our heroes must race to solve this mystery and save Hawkins.
It stars Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, Brett Gipson as Hopper, and Jeremy Jordan as Steve.
Additional voice actors include Odessa A’zion, Janeane Garofalo, and Lou Diamond Phillips.
“Stranger Things” creators Matt & Ross Duffer executive produce with Hilary Leavitt on behalf of Upside Down Pictures, alongside Shawn Levy via 21 Laps, Dan Cohen, and Robles.
