Anticipation is building for Netflix‘s Stranger Things animation Tales From ’85.
At Annecy today, fans were treated to a sneak peek behind the scenes of the creation of the latest in the Hawkins-set franchise, while showrunner Eric Robles revealed the inspiration behind the first animation in the series.
It is early days, and no images have even been released, but Robles talked a packed Annecy crowd through some of the animatics, character design, scary creatures – including some terrifying upside down pumpkins – and even showed a small bit of animation, much to the Netflix execs’ chagrin, Robles joked.
Robles revealed many of the shows that have inspired Tales From ’85 but it is one above all that became his “north star.”
“It all went back to The Real Ghostbusters,” he said. “It was silly but had a handful of dark, creepy episodes and we just kept talking about that. That became the north star for us.”
The streamer has just released its first Tales From ’85 logline, which reads: “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.”
The animation represents the next stage in the Duffer Brothers’ smash Stranger Things franchise, with the fifth and final series set to be released later this year in three parts. A Broadway and West End stage version, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, have both opened, while immersive Stranger Things experiences have taken place worldwide.
Robles was on stage before the team behind Netflix movie In Your Dreams.
The creatives were speaking at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
