It's not clear whether Henry will already have his powers
After more than a year of teasing from the Duffer brothers, Stranger Things fans finally know the name of the next spinoff of the show: Other Worlds: An Adventure of Stranger Things. Netflix has released a short trailer for the upcoming series in honor of Strange Things Day, revealing when and where it will take place. Along with other details found in the teaser, many can't help but compare it to another recent horror series. IT: Welcome to Derry is a prequel to the IT movies and was a hit when it debuted on HBO Max in 2025, at the same time as the final season of Stranger Things. The modern adaptation of Stephen King's book was one of Netflix's closest competitors. Now, it looks like Stranger Things is coming straight to HBO's Horror Crown.
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Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will meet at the Las Vegas show in 2027The 2017 film IT changed the timeline of the original book so that Georgie's disappearance took place in the 1980s instead of the 1950s. Consequently, IT: Welcome to Derry takes place in the '60s and deepens the origins of Pennywise, the dancing clown. The audience was there every week to see him terrorizing a previous generation of Derry citizens. As the teaser confirms, other worlds will unfold in 1955, long before the events of Stranger Things and even the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow. It also suggests the violinist Henry Creel will be involved. The series takes place in Nevada, where the Creels lived before Hawkins, and the trailer is set at Sh-Boomby The Chords, which played in one of Henry's memories in season 5.
It's not clear whether Henry will already have his powers, because Stranger Things never explicitly says when he came into contact with the mysterious rock that changed him forever. Duffers said that new villains would emerge, but even so, there are already some clear similarities between the other worlds' configuration and that of Welcome to Derry. Stories about the origins of villains aren't an unusual choice for prequels in the franchise - we just have to look at Star Wars, the Hunger Games, and The Lord of the Rings. However, the decision of both shows to go back over 20 years to a new group of heroes but keep the main antagonist is quite impressive. Like Welcome to Derry, Other Worlds seems to delve deeper into the franchise tradition around Henry and Dimension X.
The conclusion of Stranger Things proved extremely divisive
In addition, the Stranger Things spin-off could come out at the same time as Welcome to Derry season 2, putting them in direct competition. The teaser confirms that Other Worlds will be released in 2028, possibly in the spring, if they choose to match the date of the April 19 story. Welcome to Derry Season 2 has no release date yet, but is expected to arrive in late 2027 or 2028. With that in mind, Stranger Things will probably try to beat IT: Welcome to Derry in its own game with Other Worlds. The HBO series brought the franchise back after the unpleasant response to IT: Chapter Two. Other worlds might do the same for Stranger Things, but it will have an even fiercer battle.
The conclusion of Stranger Things proved extremely divisive, leaving some fans so unhappy that they thought there was a ninth secret episode with a better ending. Just a few months later, Netflix released the animated spinoff Stranger Things: Tales from '85, but the reception was mixed. In addition, Stranger Things: The First Shadow will close soon, both on Broadway and in the West End. If other worlds can break the series of disappointments of Stranger Things, it will be a big explosion. Parts of Henry's story and the tradition of Dimension X are still unexplained, so this new spin-off could be the breath of fresh air the franchise needs. It would also be a much bigger comeback than IT: Welcome to Derry, which was well received, but didn't have the cultural impact of Stranger Things.
Disgruntled fans may still feel the pain of ending Stranger Things, but with a release date of 2028, Other Worlds will have the benefit of distance. With IT: Welcome to Derry Season 2 introducing another new cast of characters to fight Pennywise, the two franchises will be on relatively equal footing when they return. Time will tell if IT keeps the crown of horror or Stranger Things steals it from other worlds.
