Stranger Things prequel series teaser’s hidden reference to original series hints at returning character
Stranger Things is getting a prequel series and this time round it isn’t a play or animated series, but a fully-fledged live action show set in the 1950s.
Stranger Things may have ended on a controversial note but the series is still one of the most popular in the world, and by far Netflix’s most popular creation.
The Duffer Brothers announced today, 6 November, that the prequel series would be called Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure, with a 2028 release announced.
In the teaser however there is a hidden reference which many fans won’t have noticed to the original TV series, and it could indicate what the links are between the original show and this new spin-off.
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Matt Duffer has already previously confirmed that the story will do more than just retell the plot of The First Shadow, the prequel play about how Vecna got his powers, and has stated that the series will be ‘new’ but also answer questions from the original series’ final season.
The teaser’s song also plays during a pivotal scene of Stranger Things season five
If you though the song playing in Netflix’s teaser trailer was familiar you’d be right, it played in season five during the flashbacks in which Max went through Vecna/Henry’s memories.
These took Max back to 1959 when Henry Creel, Joyce, and Hopper were all still in school.
The song Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream) by The Chords plays in the new teaser, which shows an abandoned bike with a radio playing the song as it begins to cut out.
The bike is abandoned right in front of an Area 51-style military base warning no entry, panning up to show what appears to be a UFO in the sky.
Whilst the announcement states that the show takes place in 1955, showing that it takes place on 19 April, 1955, this could actually be a sign that the show could be linked to the original series through flashbacks.
It takes place in Marion, Nevada, not Hawkins, Indiana, but even this is actually a reference that many fans won’t realise.
The proshot of The First Shadow changes a key location to Marion from the original version of the show, and this could hint at a huge link to the original series
Many fans noticed that, by locating this in Marion, it confirmed a fan theory that the prequel is in some way linked to The First Shadow’s decision to change the place Henry Creel grew up (the boy who’d go on to become Vecna) from Lincoln County to Marion, Nevada.
The Duffer Brothers have previously promised that there will be a host of new characters in the upcoming prequel, this is the biggest hint yet that we could get one of the original characters in the prequel, Vecna.
Matt Duffer has previously confirmed to Variety that the prequel will look to delve into and explain the stone that turns Henry Creel into Vecna in season five, adding: “But it’s a completely different mythology. So it’s not a deep exploration of the Mind Flayer or anything like that.
“It’s very fresh and very new, but yes, it will answer some of the loose threads that are remaining."
Fan reaction online was incredibly mixed, with one comment on Reddit saying: “Honestly this has potential. IMO they should have never made that animated show and just fully focused on getting this out ASAP after season 5
“I fully expect this new series to get clowned on no matter what though.”
Another comment however summarised the more negative reactions to this teaser, saying: “I think creators forget a lot of the time that giving back story and explaining where things came from/how they started, just takes away the mystery of the original.
“Stranger Things worked best when the upside down was this unknown, the more your learnt about it, the less interesting it became.”
Other Worlds: A Stranger Things Adventure releases on Netflix in 2028.
Topics: Stranger Things, Netflix, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin
