Netflix might not have known exactly what kind of money-making hit it had on its hands when Stranger Things debuted last summer, but it’s now fully prepared to capitalize on the zeitgeist-grabbing series from Matt and Ross Duffer. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the streaming service is gearing up for the holiday season with all kinds of merchandise, with sources indicating there are licensing deals with “Funko for collectibles, Trends International for posters and paper goods, McFarlane Toys for action figures and Hybrid Apparel for clothing.”
These toys and apparel will probably be modeled after the young cast—Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp—who lend the series much of its appeal. But because “every time you have a show that relies so heavily on the charm of kids, you want to capture that,” a source tells THR that Netflix reportedly wanted to film seasons three and four back to back, to avoid the actors’ awkward phases. The idea was shot down by the Duffer brothers, who pointed out it would put a terrible strain on the writers’ wrists to crank out so many episodes under such tight time constraints. Besides, only a third season has been confirmed, while a fourth, if eventually ordered, will likely bring the series to an end.