In case you have been living under a rock of late, Stranger Things is the hottest show in the streamiverse right now. The Netflix juggernaut that first galvanized viewers into fan frenzy nearly six years ago this July concluded earlier this week in grand fashion (with more to come). But fans left with an empty hole in their heart should cast that despair aside: the Stranger Things universe is about to grow.
Variety has reported that show creators The Duffer Brothers—Matt and Ross—are set to launch a Stranger Things series spin off as well as a stage play. Their production company, Upside Down Pictures, will oversee both projects with Netflix and other associated partners. Neither project has been detailed with any plot overviews, other than both will revolve around the lore and universe of the original series.
Ted Sarandos, co-CEO and chief content officer of Netflix said in a statement, "Matt and Ross are an exceptionally unique talent with a vision so crisp and clear. They are all about the details — it's no accident that Stranger Things has pierced the zeitgeist to become the epic pop culture phenomenon it is today. We're excited to continue telling new stories with them as they grow Upside Down Pictures… "
Variety has also reported that Stranger Things has become the second Netflix series ever to cross the 1 billion hours viewed mark (the first was Squid Game). In the season finale that was released this month, metal titans Metallica lent their 1986 classic "Master of Puppets" to the soundtrack. The track was used in a pivotal scene and the reaction nearly broke the internet.
In a post to social media, the band said "The way The Duffer Brothers have incorporated music into Stranger Things has always been next level, so we were beyond psyched for them to not only include 'Master of Puppets' in the show, but to have such a pivotal scene built around it. We were all stoked to see the final result and when we did we were totally blown away… it's so extremely well done."
Even before Metallica, Stranger Things was making tons of headlines thanks to Joseph Quinn's zany metalhead character Eddie Munson. Munson’s Dio jacket came from Dio’s own personal collection, and previously, Quinn—who is also a guitarist—explained how listening to heavy metal helped shape the character. And then there's villain Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower, who listened to a lot of Sunn O))) and Darkthrone to get into the evil of the role.
