Stranger Things: Tales from ’85: First Looks and Voice Cast Unveiled Ahead of 2026 Premiere

Stranger Things Day is here, and while season 5 is undoubtedly the biggest focus of today’s proceedings, we finally got our first look at the new animated series that bridges the gap between seasons 2 and 3, set to arrive in at least two installments beginning in 2026. 

The series is led by showrunner and executive producer Eric Robles, with additional executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer and Hilary Leavitt through Upside Down Pictures, Shawn Levy through 21 Laps, and Dan Cohen. Flying Bark Productions is handling the animation.

As you may recall, Netflix did a full-blown reveal of the new series during Annecy Film Festival, where those in the room were treated to a bunch of footage and behind-the-scenes insights into how the series was made. We’d recommend reading our full roundup, as we posted a lot of details you won’t find anywhere else!

Today’s first look also came with a minute-long featurette that looks behind the scenes at the creation of the series, featuring new clips from the upcoming show, work-in-progress art, and more teases of what’s to come. Matt and Ross Duffer, the two creators behind the Netflix juggernaut, kicked off proceedings saying, “When we started talking about whether there was anything else we wanted to do with Stranger Things, this was one of our first ideas.” They continued, “The idea was to evoke the feelings of an ’80s cartoon. With animation, there are no limits. Eric and his team can go wild.”

We also got a newly refreshed logline for the series: “Welcome back to Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, an epic new animated series.”

Who is in the voice cast for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85?

As we strongly suspected during the Annecy presentation, the main cast from the live-action show will not be reprising their roles here.

• Brooklyn Davey Norstedt (WeCrashed) as Eleven
• Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (In Your Dreams, The Monkey King) as Max
• Luca Diaz (Erin & Aaron) as Mike
• Ej (Elisha) Williams (The Wonder Years) as Lucas
• Braxton Quinney as Dustin
• Ben Plessala (The Sea Beast, Castlevania: Nocturne) as Will,
• Brett Gipson (Knights of Badassdom, Transylmania) as Hopper

Additional voice cast includes Odessa A’zion (Grand Army, Hellraiser), Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites, Wet Hot American Summer), and Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire, Young Guns).

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As mentioned at the top of the article, the news comes through Stranger Things day, which marks the anniversary of when Will was taken. It’s a busy day with Netflix planning a big live-stream on its TUDUM site late in the evening for those in the United States and early in the morning for those in Europe or further East. Expect new tidbits from the cast, and also, the first five minutes of episode 1 will be released.

Still no release date yet for Tales from ’85, although we’re expecting it relatively early in the year to capitalize on the momentum from season 5.

For more on Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, keep checking back here on What’s on Netflix.