Caleb McLaughlin, who played Lucas Sinclair in Netflix’s Stranger Things, is moving on to a new chapter as the main voice in Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT, which comes out in theaters on February 13, 2026. The 24-year-old actor talked about life after the sci-fi show ended its five seasons, saying it was “very interesting” during interviews at the movie’s premiere.
In GOAT, McLaughlin plays Will Harris, a small goat who wants to be a pro roarball player in a high-stakes, full-contact animal sport that is like basketball but played in different biomes. Will is made fun of by teammates who are stronger than him, but he goes viral after beating ROAR league MVP Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre) and gets a contract with the Vin Thorns to help sell more tickets. Tyree Dillihay directed the movie, which is the first fully animated sports comedy. It shows that “small can ball” with relatable underdog vibes.
McLaughlin reunites with David Harbour, who plays his co-star in Stranger Things. He also joins Gabrielle Union as Jett Fillmore, Stephen Curry in his first movie role, Nicola Coughlan, Nick Kroll, Jennifer Hudson, and others. He jokes that the group is “GOAT-ed in our own right,” which shows how different their fun, family-friendly energy is from that of hybrid animations like Space Jam. Positive reviews say that its action-comedy score is a big win for Sony’s animation streak after Spider-Verse.
Just six weeks after the end of Stranger Things, GOAT releases McLaughlin’s first voice acting role and biggest movie to date, which is similar to his role as an underdog in Shooting Stars. This week, fans can see GOAT in theaters for some laughs and inspiration for underdogs.
