(Credits: Columbia Pictures / Revolution Studios)

After a decade, Stranger Things is finally coming to an end in 2025. For real. And no cliffhangers this time. This is it, the last chapter. And once it’s over, there’s a serious hole left behind.

And it is not just the end of a series, though; it’s the end of a show that basically carried Netflix on its back for years. Whether you were obsessed with the plot or just liked the vibe, you felt it. You logged in because of it. And now, with the final season wrapping up right at the start of January, we are all going to be left sitting there, wondering what to do with ourselves.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Because while Stranger Things exits, Netflix already has something planned for you, and no, it’s not a shiny original or a trending rom-com. It’s a monster movie. A proper one. And not just anyone’s; it’s a Guillermo del Toro classic.

Now, no, we are not talking about Frankenstein. Yes, people enjoyed it, and it was spectacular, but it’s already there on Netflix. The OTT is bringing one of del Toro’s cult classics.

On January 1st, Hellboy (2004) drops on Netflix. And yes, the original, the real deal, the del Toro version. The one that looks like it crawled straight out of a comic book.

If you have never seen it, let us just give you a disclaimer: this is not your clean-cut superhero movie. It starts with the Nazis trying to open a portal to another realm during the war. They fail. A baby demon shows up. The US takes him in. And decades later, he is a full-grown, bright-red, trench-coat-wearing nightmare who works for a secret paranormal agency and doesn’t like being told what to do.

That’s Hellboy.

Sounds a lot like what Russians were trying to do in Stranger Things, right? Well, in case you missed it, the creators of Stranger Things accepted that Hellboy was one of the primary sources of inspiration for the show.

Ron Perlman plays the demon like he has been doing it for years. He looks all fed up but also, weirdly, relatable. And no, he is not trying to be cool at all. He just is. And the world around him is totally vintage del Toro. Everything feels old and strange and haunted. There are creatures you don’t fully understand, and there are conversations that feel like riddles. And most of all, nothing ever feels safe. But you settle into it, we promise.

These are all the things that make Hellboy such a perfect post-Stranger Things drop. You are already used to supernatural weirdness, to people fighting things they can’t explain. On top of that, it will be fun to draw parallels between the two.

So yes. One story ends, and another walks in; all you do is watch. Netflix knew exactly what they were doing with this one.

Let Stranger Things go. Hellboy is waiting.