Stranger Things producer says "there is an endgame" and talks possibility of spinoffs

Stranger Things
(Image credit: Netflix)

Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy has talked about the ending of the series – and whether there's a chance for spinoffs.

"I have the end in sight," he told Collider. "The brothers [creators/showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer] have the end in sight. There is a plan and that too will be shared not quite as soon as a sense of when season 4 is coming out, but soon enough. I can say this. No one's making it up as we go along and there is an endgame, if you will."

While that doesn't give much of an indication about how close we are to the finale of Stranger Things, it seems that Levy doesn't mean a permanent ending, because he also talked about the possibility of spinoffs from the nostalgic sci-fi show.

"I'd say what's been made clear is this is obviously a tent pole, arguably the tentpole franchise in the history of Netflix," he commented. "Obviously certain other shows played key roles in their evolution, but Stranger Things with 196 million viewers over the time that we've been on the air, that's a lot of households. And it's unique in that Netflix service. What's been made clear is there is an interest and a real voracious appetite for any offshoot, any other iteration format or extension of the franchise, the characters, the mythology. And certainly those conversations are hardly evolved, but they're also not non-existent."

So, while it doesn't sound like there are any concrete plans just yet, it does seem that we can maybe expect another project in the future. For now, though, the wait for Stranger Things season 4 is ongoing – the pandemic has slowed things down, which means a 2022 release date is looking likely.

Not much is known about the next series just yet, though four new cast members have been announced, and a spoilery set photo suggests Eleven will find herself in some serious trouble. There's also a brief, ominous teaser featuring the Hawkins National Laboratory. 

Until more Stranger Things arrives, check out our roundup of the best Netflix shows to watch now to find your next binge-watch.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.