Read fake outline the Duffer brothers wrote for a Stranger Things spin-off

Matt and Ross Duffer – the brothers responsible for Stranger Things – have come up with spin-off for beloved characters Dustin and Steve, which won’t get made, but is fun to read.

The Duffer brothers recently shot a screenwriting course for Masterclass, wherein they talk viewers through developing a TV show from writing and pitching to ultimately selling that idea.

One of the videos is entitled ‘How to write a Logline‘ and features the brothers plotting out a Stranger Things spin-off for Dustin and Steve. Though they repeatedly make it clear that this isn’t anything that will actually happen, with Matt stating: “This is not a real thing Netflix – this is a fake idea!”

They then start the process of hammering out story, with the plan to have an outline at the end of the 20-minute video.

Brainstorming a Stranger Things spin-off

Ross Duffer kicks off the masterclass by stating: “One thing we haven’t really had time to explore in the show is where is Dustin’s Dad.” So the story begins there. They decide their plot should play out away from Hawkins, and feature neither Eleven, nor the Upside Down.

Ross continues: “Our initial thought is what if Dustin – after the events of Season 3 – is feeling emotional about what happened and wants to go and visit his Dad before high school starts. Of course, Steve has just lost his job because the mall and Scoops Ahoy have burned down, and so he convinces Steve to go with him.”

They discuss the pair going on a road trip like Little Miss Sunshine. Compare Dustin’s Dad to Henry Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And The Goonies gets mentioned when talking treasure. Using all that as a jumping off point, the Duffers then type up their outline…

Fake Steve and Dusting spin-off

After the events of Season 3, Dustin intercepts a cryptic message on Cerebro – a message he believes is in fact a communication from his estranged FATHER. A concerned Dustin decides to check on his Dad, who lives in Arizona.

He recruits his good friend Steve – and Steve’s car of course – to assist him in his journey. However, when Dustin and Steve arrive in Arizona, they find that Dustin’s Dad is missing, and has in fact been missing for many months.

Turns out that Dustin’s Dad, very much like his son, loves a good adventure, and has set off to find the legendary Lost Dutchman’s Mine, the rumored home of a great treasure. Steve and Dustin now set off to find Dustin’s Dad as well as the treasure.

However, they aren’t the only ones looking for this treasure, and they soon find themselves embroiled in an adventure involving thieves, treasure hunters, and something else – lurking in the dark, something not quite human…

That’s the end of their outline, though the brothers add that they would tidy this document up if they had more time, removing repetition, and tightening the story before sending it out.

Will we ever seen the fake Stranger Things spin-off?

There’s no way this is getting made, as the siblings state repeatedly during the video. But a spin-off was announced earlier this month, which will be based on an original idea by Matt and Ross.

But while details are thin on the ground, the brothers said this on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (as reported by Variety): “I’ve read these rumors that there’s gonna be an Eleven spin-off, that there’s gonna be a Steve and Dustin spin-off or that it’s another number. That’s not interesting to me because we’ve done all that. We’ve spent I don’t know how many hours exploring all of that. So it’s very different.”

Stranger Things is currently streaming on Netflix, while you can watch the entire writing seminar at masterclass.com.