Before Happy Meals started opening portals, McDonald's and Stranger Things had already tested appetite for the Upside Down. The 2025 Strange Hunger campaign, or Fome Estranha in Brazil, ran across Latin America and Europe with limited regional rollout. It featured Stranger Burger, Stranger Chicken Sandwich, Walkie Torta, Scoops Sundae, Hawkins McFloat, and Hellfire dipping sauce, while select locations even leaned into immersive Upside Down-style restaurant transformations.

Building on that experimental phase, yet another iconic collaboration has now been announced, expanding McDonalds and Netflix partnership into Happy Meal territory once again.

McDonald's and Netflix have joined forces once again, this time unveiling a global Happy Meal collaboration tied to Stranger Things: Tales from 85'. The campaign arrives as the animated spinoff prepares for its premiere and leans heavily into nostalgic 1980s aesthetics, blending fast food branding with Hawkins mystery energy.

Each Happy Meal includes one of twelve collectible character figures from the animated series, with new additions released weekly to maintain anticipation. A QR code on every box unlocks a digital game where fans join the Hawkins Investigators Club. Players battle Upside Down creatures in an interactive experience.

Some regions receive special menu inventions that sound like they were named during a very confident brainstorming session. Stranger Burger and Walkie Talkie Sundae appear in select markets such as Brazil and Spain. Even the packaging insists upon storytelling ambition, extending the series' ending beyond screens into packaging and everyday meal theatrics.

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The McDonald's collaboration is not only another chapter in its evolving history with Stranger Things, but also a continuation of Stranger Things: Tales from 85', expanding its already busy collaboration universe

Stranger Things: Tales from 85’ has moved far beyond streaming, evolving into a dense collaboration universe that stretches across collectibles, apparel, and fashion storytelling. Jazwares has introduced highly articulated Hawkins Investigators Club figures featuring Eleven, Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Nikki Baxter, and creatures like Gourde Horde and Vine Dog, with HIC Flashlight sets adding interactive projection play.

The Funko Pop Animation line expands this world further with stylized versions of Max Mayfield, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, Nikki Baxter, and Cosmo, building a collectible snapshot of 1985 styled chaos. Netflix Shop complements this with Hawkins Investigators Club T shirts, kids hoodies, sticker sheets, and sherpa blankets featuring Upside Down inspired creatures such as Snowshark, extending the series into everyday fashion and lifestyle objects.

Wrangler’s Heritage Collection grounds the aesthetic in archival fashion, offering pieces like the Will Jacket, Steve Jacket, and Nancy Jean, alongside retro denim staples, ringer tees, and trucker hats that mirror the series timeline. This expanding ecosystem now even folds in McDonalds through its Happy Meal collaboration, quietly reinforcing how Stranger Things: Tales from 85’ has become a full scale cultural merchandising network.

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Are you excited about the Stranger Things and McDonald's collaboration? Let us know in the comments!