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After years of chatter, Netflix has revealed its first look at the Stranger Things animated spinoff Tales from '85. The announcement teaser, pictured below, features cartoonified versions of all your favorite Hawkins characters, including Eleven, Dusting, Will, and... waitaminute. Is that Dart?? We thought he was dead! Before we get ahead of ourselves, check out the Tales form '85 announcement trailer for yourself, and pay close attention at the 0:46 mark.

Now I'm no expert in Upside Down physiognomy, but it really seems like the creature seen in that mark above is a demodog, the kind of mini-demogorgon that lead character Dustin kept as a pseudo-pet in Stranger Things season 2 (admittedly, it's a slightly more threatening, objectively more glowy version of the creature, but the point stands). 'Hold on,' you may argue, 'There's no way that this demodog is D'Artagnan, AKA Dart, because we saw that character die at the end of season 2.'

Technically, that's true, and before we get into speculation town here, we're going to remind you that that's all we're doing here - speculating. Keep that in mind as we discuss how that may be Dart in the teaser above. 

OK, so in case you need a refresher, the last time we saw the adorable monster was after he bravely refused the Mind Flayer's orders to attack the Hawkins kids due to his love for Dustin (or Three Musketeers bars, either way). When Eleven closed the psychic Mothergate moments later, Dart and the rest of the assembled Demadogs fell dead, their link to the Mind Flayer having been cut off.

But hear me out - what if Dart actually found some way to survive this event? After all, the tagline of this announcement on the Stranger Things YouTube page reads "Something survived in '85," which would've been the year that Dart seemingly shuffled off his mortal coil in season 2. And in case you needed even more confirmation of the timeline, refer to showrunner Eric Robles's confirmation that the cartoon takes place between seasons 2 and 3.

Now if you were to ask me how it's possible Dart survived, I'd have to admit I have no idea. But maybe that's what the glowy thing is all about?

Stranger Things: Tales from '85 starts streaming sometime in 2026. Before that, Stranger Things season 5, volume one debuts November 26 on Netflix, followed by volume 2 on December 25, and the ultimate finale of the series on December 31.  

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"