In Fall 2021, Netflix higher-ups involved in Stranger Things has been a huge hit since the series began in 2016. the series seems as if it wouldn’t work on paper but has won a huge fanbase with its charming humor, stellar cast, and twisty central mystery.
However, that last element of the show’s appeal could come back to bite Stranger Things in the future as the would-be franchise spreads its wings. According to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Stranger Things may receive multiples spinoffs and begin an expansive fictional universe when the series wraps up. However, while Stranger Things season 4’s Creel House trailer hints at how these spinoffs could work, the series will need to avoid a crucial pitfall that weakened HBO's Game of Thrones in its later seasons.
If the creators of Stranger Things are planning future spinoffs, they could be understandably tempted to hold off key plot reveals for future projects. This would potentially copy what happened with Game of Thrones' infamous White Walkers, an interesting element of the show’s mythology that ultimately went under-explained and underdeveloped. The series never properly explored the White Walker's origins on-screen, and many fans felt cheated by what felt like an incomplete story by the time GOT wrapped up. Whether this omission was because the proposed The Long Night spinoff was expected to deliver those answers, or the showrunners simply weren’t interested in the plot, is not known for certain.
The perception among many fans is that the White Walker's incomplete backstory came about because the creators took the existence of a future spinoff for granted during the production of Game of Thrones. Similarly, the mysterious Upside Down has been killing off Stranger Things characters since season 1, and viewers are still not completely certain why the alternate dimension exists or even what it is heading into season 4. Are its origins more supernatural, or sci-fi-based? Did the operators of Hawkins Lab create the dimension, or did the lab come to exist because they wanted to study the already-existing Upside Down?
Four seasons in and the answers to these inquiries have been teased but never confirmed, and waiting until a spinoff to give a clear explanation will only annoy viewers and potentially infuriate them if the proposed series is not picked up. Already, Stranger Things season 4’s ambitious scope—which promises to feature "more epic and cinematic" storytelling than the series has previously seen—may prove frustrating for longtime fans of the series just looking for answers at this stage in the show's lifespan. As such, the last thing that Stranger Things needs is to repeat a mistake already made by Game of Thrones as the show sets up more spinoffs than its story could pay off before the finale.