Stranger Things 5 Just Borrowed a Move From the MCU’s Playbook (& It’s Going to Blow Up in Its Face in Part 2)

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The popular Netflix show Stranger Things has become a cultural phenomenon, and excitement for its final season is incredibly high. Interestingly, the new episodes are being released during one of the busiest times of the year, but most fans aren’t even noticing! That’s because Stranger Things is a show people prioritize watching immediately – they don’t want to risk having spoilers shared online or at work. It’s rare for a show to have that kind of pull these days, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been capturing audiences’ attention for almost twenty years.

I’ve noticed the MCU hasn’t been as strong lately, and it feels like they’re trying to get back to the level of quality we saw in those first few phases. But honestly, 2026 looks amazing with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday coming out! Still, there are some things they really need to fix, and it’s going to be harder to move past those issues because Stranger Things 5 is coming soon, and I think it’ll bring a lot of those old criticisms back into focus when the first part releases later this year.

Marvel Studios Turned Its Franchise Into a Homework Assignment

Avengers: Endgame felt like the ultimate conclusion after the shocking ending of Avengers: Infinity War, where half of all life vanished. Fans eagerly anticipated how Earth’s heroes would fix things, and the path to victory was difficult, with some characters making the ultimate sacrifice. However, instead of ending on a perfect high note, Marvel Studios decided to shift its approach and expand its universe. Phase Four introduced several Disney+ series that tied directly into the movies, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which was well-received. Unfortunately, not all of the shows were as successful.

Following the events of Endgame, WandaVision showed Wanda Maximoff creating a strange reality in the town of Westview. It was revealed she did this because she desperately wanted to recreate what she’d lost. While the series seemed to end with her learning from her mistakes, her behavior in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was surprisingly different, even shocking viewers who had watched WandaVision. It appears Marvel tried to connect its TV shows and movies too closely, and now Stranger Things seems to be making the same mistake.

Stranger Things Really Wants to Make a Little-Known Spinoff Relevant

It’s understandable why Netflix and the creators of Stranger Things want to capitalize on the show’s success – a series this popular doesn’t come along often. They’re doing something different by adapting the story for the stage with the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which focuses on Henry Creel’s youth in Hawkins. The play delves deeper into Henry’s backstory, including the experiments conducted by Dr. Martin Breener, and also features familiar characters from the show, which could create some complications.

In the play The First Shadow, we see Joyce, Hopper, and Bob investigating strange animal deaths near Hawkins, which leads them to suspect Henry Creel’s father is responsible. These events aren’t shown in the first four seasons of Stranger Things, but Season 5 will revisit the play’s setting through a vision. This suggests The First Shadow isn’t just extra background information, but a crucial part of the story. The creators, the Duffer brothers, need to handle this carefully, as expanding the universe too much could risk losing viewers, similar to what’s happened with the Marvel Cinematic Universe recently.

Stranger Things Season 5, Part I is streaming on Netflix.

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2025-12-03 20:44