Image courtesy of Everett Collection
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Cathal Gunning
Published 27 minutes ago
Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.
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Although Mike Flanagan’s Carrie is taking a while to come together on Amazon Prime, this does mean that the show will arrive just in time to replace Netflix’s iconic Stranger Things franchise. Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is finally here, and, although the wait between seasons stretched to over three years, the critical consensus claims the final outing was worth it.
Fans and reviewers alike appear to agree that Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is one of the show’s finest hours. As such, the series would end well if its final installments managed to match the quality on display in season 5’s first four episodes.
While Stranger Things season 5’s Vecna plan is complicated, the show still has plenty of time to unknot its complex lore before the finale. Still, while the arrival of 2026’s first spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, is undeniably exciting, it is hard for viewers not only to mourn the end of the original series.
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie Arrives In Time To Replace Stranger Things
Vecna in Stranger Things season 5 episode 4
Fortunately, the perfect replacement show is already in production, and it is not Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. Netflix horror legend Mike Flanagan is adapting Stephen King’s debut novel Carrie as his first series for Amazon, some three years after his Netflix deal ended and the writer/director switched streaming services.
Flanagan became one of horror’s biggest names during his time at Netflix thanks to hits like The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and The Fall of the House of Usher. Carrie is one of King’s best-known novels and, over 50 years after its initial release, the book remains an iconic and highly influential horror story.
As such, it is fair to suggest that Flanagan’s Carrie would always have been an exciting project. However, the timing of Stranger Things’ ending could not have been better for the Amazon Prime show. Both coming-of-age stories about telekinetic teenage girls with messed-up upbringings finding their inner strength, Stranger Things and Carrie have a huge amount in common.
Stranger Things Borrowed From Stephen King’s Carrie
Stranger Things borrowed liberally from Carrie throughout the show’s story, as well as Firestarter and It. Many Stephen King novels and adaptations have been referenced throughout the show, even though Stranger Things season 5’s A Wrinkle In Time connections are volume 1’s most obvious link to the world of literature.
However, Carrie holds a special place in the show’s heart. In seasons 1 and 4, Eleven uses her psychokinetic powers to stand up against school bullies, although she never slaughters an entire prom like Carrie in the climax of the novel and its movie adaptation. Moreover, both Stranger Things and Carrie see their heroines struggle with adult authority figures.
Eleven has a loving father figure in Hopper, but an abusive authority figure at the head of Hawkins Lab, Dr. Brenner. In an interesting inversion, Carrie finds solace in a school authority figure, her kind-hearted teacher, but faces an abusive upbringing at the hands of her mother, an unhinged religious zealot.
In both stories, the teenage girls must contend with adult authority figures who try to control them, and both heroines eventually end up lashing out and using their powers to escape. Eleven ends up finding friendship and a new family thanks to Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will, whereas Carrie ends up destroying much of her hometown with her unbridled rage.
The End of Stranger Things Makes Carrie’s Arrival Time Perfect
Eleven in Stranger Things season 5
This last note is pretty pivotal, since Carrie’s story doesn’t shy away from the dark side of its heroine’s powers. Although Eleven can kill people and does so a few times in season 5, volume 1, she’s very much the unambiguous heroine of Stranger Things, and the show never paints her as anything else.
Among the Stranger Things cast of characters, Eleven is both the most powerful and arguably the most unambiguously heroic figure thanks to her selfless nature and endless loyalty. This was only reinforced as Stranger Things moved away from horror and toward action-adventure in its final season.
There are no major character deaths in season 5’s first four episodes, where, in contrast, Carrie is firmly a darker, scarier, and more morally complex story. Carrie is the protagonist, but she is also directly responsible for more character deaths than anyone else in King’s tale, and the numbers aren’t remotely close.
As such, assuming Stranger Things season 5’s story ends with a heroic triumph for its telekinetic teenage heroine, Flanagan’s story can arrive just in time to offer a darker, thornier spin on the same material. Carrie is almost certain to be a more dangerous, unstable character than Eleven, but she may well be just as lovable.
As a result, Flanagan’s adaptation of the Stephen King story is likely to be a more mature and tragic tale than its Netflix predecessor. This means that Prime’s version of Carrie will be a perfect companion piece to Stranger Things after the hit ends later in 2025.
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7 Images
Eleven looking into an opening of the Upside Down with pink light in Stranger Things season 1
Jim Hopper (David Harbour) grabbing Jonathan's (Charlie Heaton) shoulders in Stranger Things season 1©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Eleven with cables all over her head in Stranger Things season 4
Vecna looking towards Will in the trailer for Stranger Things season 5 (2025)
Max and Eleven in Stranger ThingsNetflix
Stranger Things season 2, episode 2 "Trick or Treat, Freak".MovieStillsDB
The Upside Down in Stranger Things season 5Courtesy of Netflix Close
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Do you think Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Carrie will be a worthy successor to Stranger Things? Why or why not?
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27 minutes ago
Some fans may feel that Carrie has the potential to fill the void left by Stranger Things due to the shared themes of telekinetic powers and coming-of-age struggles. However, others might argue that the darker, more tragic tone of Carrie could make it a very different viewing experience compared to the more action-adventure focused Stranger Things. Additionally, while Flanagan has proven his horror chops, some may question if he can capture the same magic and nostalgia that made Stranger Things so beloved.
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