Yesterday Universal and Netflix sent the whole internet into a frenzy with news that the awesome franchise Stranger Things was set to return to HHN. It was no big secret within the industry and concept artwork did leak 24 hours prior but the scale of the positive vibes from this announcement was surely mind blowing!
And what with all the traffic and excitement looking at the video and press releases there was a very quiet detail that was slipped in that we wanted to highlight as it’s very interesting!
That detail is that the mazes currently under construction at both Orlando and Hollywood will be based on both seasons 2 and the unreleased season 3 (note: season 3 is to be released on Netflix on July 4th).
This is interesting to us HHN fans as the maze from HHN28 (last year) was just on season 1. So this means one of both of two possible reasons:
1. Stranger Things has been renewed for a fourth season (dates of which are unknown). So the news that Universal is working with Netflix to build a maze this year on a season that hasn’t been released yet is very good news. That means in theory that the partnership between both companies is VERY strong. Giving an outside company like Universal access to your content before it is released shows that Netflix is really happy with this partnership!
2. It might also be said that if season 4’s shooting schedule doesn’t line up or for some reason Universal doesn’t make a third Stranger Things maze it could be because next year in 2020 is HHN’s 30th year: HHN30. So could the event be another anniversary type event where old houses are resurrected under one central theme just like we saw at HHN25, HHN20, HHN16 etc?
Regardless of the above you also need to pepper in the fact that Universal has been working with Netflix a lot lately! We reported last month on two Universal properties that have found a home on Netflix (with others following soon enough). Plus you also have got to say that these tweets from the official Universal Twitter account are weird, as they don’t normally especially mention other brands or shows that aren’t Universal, take a look for yourself (click through as there’s more like this on their feed):
Just spent the weekend watching the @netflix doc on Flat Earthers. I’m now convinced I’m flat.
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) March 25, 2019
So when you consider these tweets, the strong partnership with Netflix and the alleged squeezing of using other IPs from the likes of Fox (now Disney) and Warner Bros it would seem that the partnership between Netflix and Universal is to be the most fruitful.
This being said it would indicate to me that The Haunting of Hill House must now surely be on the cards for HHN29 or even HHN30!? Noting also that one of the production companies behind this series is Steven Spielberg’s Amblin who have been longtime partners with Universal!
So there you have it. What do you think? Could we be onto something? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Remember nothing is confirmed until Universal officially confirms it!