This submit incorporates main spoilers for the “Stranger Issues” sequence finale.
“Stranger Issues” has come to an finish, however a specific scene within the finale’s epilogue is likely to be hinting at a possible spin-off. You would possibly’ve heard of “Montauk,” the sci-fi horror idea that the Duffer Brothers created earlier than honing it into “Stranger Issues.” This early idea had thematic overlaps with the present in query, however occurred within the city of Montauk as a substitute of Hawkins. Within the present’s sequence finale, we see Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce (Winona Ryder) go on a date at Enzo’s, the place the previous proposes and suggests they transfer to Montauk. This sudden name-drop is a deliberate shout-out, which the Duffers clarify in an interview with Netflix Tudum:
“That ultimate scene with them [Hopper and Joyce] had been deliberate for fairly a while. It is very troublesome what Hopper went via, particularly with Eleven, and we appreciated the concept of him and Joyce having a possibility to begin a brand new chapter of their lives […] And, after all, we did the Montauk shout-out [where Hopper has a job offer] as a result of the present was initially going to be set in Montauk. It felt like a pleasant little wink to the superfans of the present who have been conscious of that nugget.”
This, after all, may simply be a neat little Easter egg for these within the know, however Montauk may even be the point of interest for a future spin-off. “Montauk” appears to be very near the showrunners’ hearts, because it later grew to become the muse for “Stranger Issues” and the particular ’80s nostalgia tied to it. On condition that we’re already getting an animated spin-off sequence (titled “Stranger Issues: Tales from ’85”) someday this 12 months, a Montauk-centered offshoot story does not appear too far-fetched.
Montauk may resolve unanswered questions concerning the Stranger Issues universe
The “Stranger Issues” finale ended on a bittersweet observe. Regardless that the ultimate season is filled with reveals, not each query is answered, together with the mechanics of Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) plan and the true motivations of the Thoughts Flayer. Equally, we aren’t aware about the finer particulars of the army’s curiosity within the Abyss, a few of that are answered within the stage play, “Stranger Issues: The First Shadow” (which additionally etches a nuanced origin story for Henry/Vecna). A attainable “Montauk” spin-off may peer into one other small city hiding secrets and techniques, and discover the federal government conspiracy angle from a contemporary perspective.
The time period “Montauk” attracts from the real-life conspiracy principle surrounding the Montauk Undertaking, which alleges that the U.S. authorities performed experiments to develop weapons for psychological warfare in Montauk, New York. This principle additionally claims that these army experiments included analysis into extraterrestrial lifeforms, time journey, thoughts management, and teleportation. Whereas most of those facets have been fictionalized in “Stranger Issues,” there was an rising lack of cohesion between subplots over time, till the main focus shifted utterly to Vecna. A Montauk-centered story has the chance to be darker and grittier in tone than the unique present. The unique idea for “Montauk” was presupposed to be a found-footage story with grisly horror parts, which is likely to be a refreshing re-entry level for the franchise.
However, perhaps it is higher to let a 10-year previous franchise finish by itself phrases, contemplating how uneven (although wildly eventful) the journey has been. Hawkins has all the time felt half-baked as a city, regardless of being the only real focus of 5 entire seasons. It is maybe for the very best that Montauk does not bear the identical therapy.
