'Stranger Things' creators teases popular fan theory about spin-off series

Stranger Things creators Ross and Matt Duffer have confirmed that a popular fan theory about the show’s upcoming spin-off is not true.

The Netflix hit wrapped up its five-season run with a dramatic finale on Thursday (1 January), bringing the Hawkins gang’s battle against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and the Upside Down to an emotional close.

The epilogue jumps 18 months into the future, showing where key characters end up after the chaos.

Fans were especially thrilled to see Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) finally enjoy a romantic dinner at Enzo’s, where Hopper proposes and Joyce says yes.

During the scene, Hopper suggests moving away from Hawkins after hearing about a police chief job opening in Montauk, New York.

That line quickly sparked fan theories online, with some believing Montauk would be the setting for the already confirmed Stranger Things spin-off.

One fan wrote: “WAIT HOPPER WANTS TO GO TO MONTAUK?!!! #montauk that is where the whole story of Papa’s Dad started. Is that the spinoff town?!!!”

Another added: “Oh you caught that huh? Montauk is the Easter egg for the next spinoff.”

However, Ross Duffer shut down the theory in an interview with Deadline, explaining: “I don’t know if I want to, but I will say, though, it’s not Hopper mentioning Montauk.”

“There’s no Montauk spinoff. That was more of a wink to the fans, deep-cut fans that know that the show started as Montauk.”

He added that the spin-off will feature “an entirely new mythology,” saying it will answer unanswered questions but tell “its own story and its own mythology.”

Still, the Duffers confirmed a clue is hidden somewhere in the finale.