Warning: Spoilers for Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 ahead.
It’s official: Season 5 of Stranger Things will be its last. Back in February 2022, the Duffer Brothers announced the news themselves in an open letter shared with fans alongside season 4’s official poster. “Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things,” the duo wrote in their letter. “At the time, we predicted the story would last four or five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but — as you’ll soon see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; season 5 will be the last.”
“With nine scripts, over eight hundred pages, almost two years of filming, thousands of visual effects shots, and a runtime nearly twice the length of any previous season, Stranger Things 4 was the most challenging season yet, but also the most rewarding one,” the Duffer Brothers shared, calling the fourth season “the beginning of the end.” The duo also shared that the decision to split the season in two parts was due to its “unprecedented length” and to get it to fans “as soon as possible.”
The Duffer Brothers have served as the series creators and showrunners since Stranger Things premiered on Netflix back in 2016. Now, with a two-volume season 4 in the rearview, there’s only one chapter left to focus on for our favorite group of Hawkins kids. The Duffer Brothers also revealed that though Stranger Things may be coming to an end, its universe will not. “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes.”
With the promise of so much and so little left on the horizon, we’ve gathered everything we know so far about Stranger Things season 5, including release date, plot details, cast info, and more.
At the moment, there is no trailer for Stranger Things season 5 — but on July 15, Netflix gifted us all with something special. The streamer dropped the very first look at Stranger Things 5 with never-before-seen set footage in celebration of the cast and crew reaching the halfway mark of filming. “We’re about halfway through filming now, and it’s exciting,” series star Caleb McLaughlin says via voiceover in the clip. “There’s so much going on. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Stranger Things season 5.”
“I started when I was 10, I’m now turning 20 years old,” says Millie Bobby Brown entering the soundstage. “It feels very weird.” The clip then takes us inside the lot where the show is filming, sharing sneak peeks of Linda Hamilton entering her trailer, Vecna’s return, Lucas and Max’s reunion, a slimy, menacing dark hole, walls engulfed by the vines of the Upside Down, Maya Hawke and Joe Keery, and so many more exciting reveals. “Like every season, you never know what to expect. 100% the wait will be worth it,” says McLaughlin. Noah Schnapp agrees, just scenes later: “I think this is gonna be the best season yet.” “Season 4 was big, season 5 definitely feels bigger,” says Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna.
In August 2022, the @strangerwriters Twitter account posted an update with only two words: “Day 1.” Pictured is a whiteboard with a hand-drawn Stranger Things 5 logo, and in the reflection of the whiteboard, you can make out a bunch of people seated around a table. The writer’s room had officially begun, and Stranger Things 5 was officially in development. By September, the writers’ room had finished grid-blocking the entire plot of the season.
On November 6 — the date Will Byers vanished in 1983, which Netflix deemed Stranger Things Day — the team behind the series has made it a tradition to tease the next season. 2022’s Stranger Things Day revealed the title of the first episode of the fifth and final season. “Season 5. Chapter one. The crawl. Happy Stranger Things day,” read the caption from the show’s official Twitter account. Fans attempted to decode the title almost immediately, googling “what is a crawl in DND” and scouring Metallica lyrics.
On Stranger Things Day 2023, the writers shared a snippet of the opening scene of season 5’s first episode. According to the script, the episode will open in darkness with the sound of cold wind and groaning trees in the background before a child singing “a familiar song” is heard.
Filming for Stranger Things 5 was intended to begin in May 2023. However, during the first week of May, the Writers Guild of America officially went on strike. Only a few weeks later, the Screen Actors Guild union also went on strike, halting production on both ends for over 140 days. On September 27, the writers confirmed that development on season 5 had resumed with a short and sweet message written on an otherwise blank script page: “We’re back.”
Even with both strikes now over, there is still no confirmed or estimated release date for Stranger Things 5. Pre-strikes, the Duffer Brothers had assured fans that there would be a much shorter wait than the three-year gap in between seasons 3 and 4. “The gap should be quite a bit shorter this time, due to the fact that we already have an initial outline, and we can’t imagine there will be another six-month forced hiatus,” the Duffer brothers said during an interview with Variety in the summer of 2022. How ironic.
Also pre-strikes, series lead Finn Wolfhard revealed to GQ that the show would most likely be released in early 2025 — at the earliest — which we now know is a little bit too optimistic. That said, there is some good news: After all the waits and delays, production for Stranger Things 5 is officially ongoing.
Netflix announced Stranger Things 5 had begun production on January 8, 2024. The streamer posted a black and white photo of the series’ entire cast and crew reunited on the official Instagram account. “🚨THIS IS A CODE RED🚨 STRANGER THINGS 5 production has officially begun!!!” read the caption.
However, don’t get your hopes up just yet. In March 2024, after three months of filming, Millie Bobby Brown revealed that Stranger Things 5 still had nine whole months left of filming during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show. That means the season likely won’t wrap up filming until December 2024 or January 2025.
Ross Duffer confirmed as much in early July 2024. The Duffer Bro. posted a full cast and crew photo from a soundstage in celebration of hitting the halfway mark of production on season 5. “Week 24. Happy halfway to the best cast and crew ever,” he wrote in the caption. (Two people are blurred out in the center of the pic… any guesses on who they are?)
Given the extensive visual effects the show demands and the in-demand schedules of the young cast of rising stars, it’s likely that this new season will take even longer to hit the streamer. So, doing some basic maths, we probably won’t get Stranger Things 5 until late 2025 at the earliest, or, most likely, early 2026.
Luckily for us, the majority of the main cast made it out of season 4 alive and were present in the final scene of the season, so it’s safe to assume that most, if not all, of the main cast will return for season 5. This includes Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Noah Schnapp (Will), Priah Ferguson (Erica), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), Maya Hawke (Robin), Joe Keery (Steve), David Harbour (Hopper), and Winona Ryder (Joyce).
While we might not know what the future holds for most characters, Joe Keery did spill the beans about Steve Harrington in season 5, promising “good things” will happen to his character. During an appearance on The Movie Dweeb podcast on February 2024, Keery confirmed his beloved character does “get to have some good, good things this time around.” The actor added that while “there’s literally nothing I can say about anything,” so far, what he’s filmed as Steve for S5 “has been very fun already.” Of course, Keery’s comments could mean anything. He might be hinting at Steve and Nancy’s rekindled relationship; or he might just be referring to some more hijinks with besties Dustin and Robin.
In less-positive news, we bid farewell to Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn) in episode 9 of season 4, as he died a hero to save his friends and protect his town. The Duffer Brothers confirmed the character’s death while appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast following the finale. And yet, Joseph Quinn has been steadily dropping hints about a potential return for Eddie. Throughout his press run for A Quiet Place: Day One, Quinn has teased that “chances are high” for a Stranger Things reunion.
“I love those guys! I’d love to say hello,” Quinn said coyly to Entertainment Tonight. “I’m sure they’re working very hard to land the plane… I’m sure they’re gonna deliver it in a pretty epic way. I have no doubts.” When asked if that epic finale will include an appearance from him, a twist many fans have a hunch about, Quinn smiled: “I might have that feeling too. Or maybe I don’t. I don’t know! Who knows?”
Quinn had answered similarly at a convention after a fan asked during a Q&A whether he would return for season 5. He dragged out his response with cheeky smirks and some hesitance, finally answering: “I do know…but I’m not telling you.”
On July 1, Quinn appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and revealed that he knows how Stranger Things will end, but that he refuses to confirm or deny whether it will involve his character Eddie. “I mean, I’m just excited to see. I’m not saying anything,” said Quinn. “I had to tie them to a chair and get it out of them! But I do know now, I know some bits, and it sounds very exciting. I’m very excited to see how they pull it off, and I’ve no doubts that it’s very much within all of their capacities — the showrunners, the direction, the cast, everything.”
Max became a victim of Vecna’s curse in the two-part finale and was technically dead for a full minute before Eleven restarted her heart with her powers. The last we see of Max, she’s hospitalized and in a coma. Eleven tries to communicate with her by searching for her mind, but there is, tragically, no response.
When asked about Max’s fate while speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2022, Sink was quick to point out that Max has a pulse and is technically still alive and present in the show. “I’m not sure where we’re going and what Max’s state is. It’s definitely all up in the air right now,” said Sink. “I’m just as excited as everyone else to find out where Max is and how she’s doing.”
Jamie Campbell Bower, who portrayed this season’s villain Vecna/Henry/One, also hinted at a S5 return to EW, noting the scene where Vecna should be dead, but suddenly disappears. On August 29, JCB opened up further to NME, teasing that Vecna will most likely be back for season 5, and he’ll be back with a hell of a vengeance.
“He’s pissed, he’s properly vexed,” said Campbell Bower. “I don’t think he’s slunk off licking his wounds in misery. He’s rebuilding, and he’s out for blood. It’s like, you’ve really f*cking pushed the buttons now, that classic Jason Voorhees [the iconic killer in Friday the 13th] thing — you’ve made a big mistake.”
Though Campbell Bower still hasn’t confirmed whether he’s signed on for multiple seasons, Will’s mention to Mike that he could still feel Vecna’s presence during the finale is almost confirmation enough. “I think Vecna and Will have a connection that’s yet to be explored,” continued JCB. “As a fan, I’d be interested to see more of that.”
So far, a total of four new cast members have been confirmed to join Stranger Things 5: child actors Jake Connelly and Nell Fisher (previously seen in Bookworm), Alex Breaux (Waco: The Aftermath, See, When They See Us), and The Terminator star Linda Hamilton. (You can spot glimpses of the new cast in the BTS video Netflix released on July 15, at the top of this story.)
While speaking to IndieWire in August 2022, the Duffer Brothers broke down their rationale behind bringing new characters on the show and praised the adaptability and performances of actors brought on the series after season 1, like Joseph Quinn, Sadie Sink, Maya Hawke, and Dacre Montgomery. Though they avoid introducing multiple new core characters in a given season, the Duffer Brothers admitted that new characters can bring fresh ideas, just like new plot devices or new creatures to battle.
“I just like shaking it up, so we shake it up by changing the plot or adding in a new monster,” said Matt. “We’re doing our best to resist [adding new characters] for Season 5. We’re trying not to do that so we can focus on the OG characters, I guess.”
With such a finite amount of time left with the OG Hawkins gang, it makes sense that the Stranger Things writers want to make sure that fans aren’t left feeling shorted by the series finale. This means the four new faces seen around town in Stranger Things 5 will likely be the only additions.
However, it’s still possible for more cast members to be added. Fans are still rooting for a love interest for Maya Hawke’s character Robin — but she’s not feeling too excited about it. ICYMI: season four ended with Hawke’s character, Robin Buckley, finally making a move on her crush, Hawkins High’s resident clarinetist Vickie over PB&J sandwiches. Though nothing was made explicit, the Duffer Bros were probably leveling the ground for a blossoming romance in the final season of the show, meaning Robin could officially get a girlfriend soon. However, there is a small caveat: Hawke is not entirely sold.
“I feel mixed about it,” the actor told Yahoo! Entertainment in June 2023 about the possibility of having an on-screen GF for Robin. “I feel like there’s that’s both a great thing, and I also love characters where their love life is not the center of their existence.”
Instead of focusing on Robin’s purely romantic life, Hawke would love to keep spotlighting and centering friendship as part of her character’s arc, particularly her relationship with Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington. “That friendship with Steve is so special,” Hawke admitted. “Friendships have been carrying me through my life, and I think they’re really important, and they deserve their time.”
Stranger Things 5 will likely follow the Hawkins gang’s final adventure as they team up to crack their biggest mystery yet: how to defeat Vecna once and for all. The Duffer Brothers previously told TV Line that there will be a time jump and confirmed to Collider that the last season will primarily be set in Hawkins and the Upside Down — no more being split between Russia, California, and Indiana. The brothers have also revealed in multiple interviews that the main focus of season 5 will be to break down the mythology of the Upside Down, and finally provide answers to questions we’ve had since season 1.
Despite the adventures being more intense in the upcoming final season, seasons 1 and 5 will have more than just questions and answers in common, according to the Duffer Brothers. “This season – it’s like season 1 on steroids,” Matt Duffer told The Guardian in December 2023. “It’s the biggest it’s ever been in terms of scale.”
With everyone back in Hawkins, the character dynamics will be reminiscent of when we first met the gang, Matt added. “The boys and Eleven [will be] interacting more in line with how it was in season 1,” he explained. “And, yes, there may be spin-offs, but the story of Eleven and Dustin and Lucas and Hopper, their stories are done here. That’s it… outside of the play. So if you want to see more of some of them, go see the play.” (ICYMI: there’s a prequel play called The First Shadow currently on London’s West End, set in the 1950s, which includes young versions of Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, and Bob Newby.)
The Duffer Brothers have also been clear that they’re not entirely sure what this last season will look like, but they know for sure how it will end. “It’s like that lighthouse blinking in the distance… while a lot of season 5 is actually pretty blurry, the last 30 minutes of it are pretty clear in our heads,” said Ross. “So if we can make the journey entertaining, I think that we have an end that will hopefully satisfy. You can’t satisfy everyone, but the hope is that it’s something that feels right for this story.”
The creative duo previously told The Wrap that top dogs at Netflix shed real tears once they shared their ideas for the arc of season 5. “We do have an outline for season 5 and we pitched it to Netflix and they really responded well to it,” Ross said. “I mean, it was hard. It’s the end of the story. I saw executives crying who I’ve never seen cry before and it was wild.”
It’s been rumored that David Harbour (Hopper) knows how the series ends, a piece of gossip that hilariously infuriates co-star Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin). And speaking of Dustin — for fans who were disturbed by the boy-genius seeming to be the only member of the group mourning Eddie’s death, the Duffer Brothers also noted that Eddie will be honored in the final season, and that his death will actually have “huge repercussions” for those who made it out of season 4 alive.
Some of the cast has started to tease the ending of the show, seemingly having gotten to peek at the script or story outline for the final season. While speaking to Forbes in January 2023, Noah Schnapp said that he’s “very very excited for what’s to come.” “I think they did a great job with Will’s character this season, and beautifully addressed everything they needed to,” said Schnapp. “The way they closed the show is just perfect — the story started with Will, and it’ll end with Will.”
Back in the summer of 2022, Noah Schnapp confirmed that his character Will was gay, and that Will was in love with Finn’s character Mike. Six months later, Schnapp came out as gay on TikTok, much to the love and support of his fans, family, and castmates. Schnapp reflected on the impact Will had on his own self-actualization in his August 2023 cover story for Variety.
“Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” Schnapp told the publication. “I would be in a completely different place if I didn’t have Will to portray, and to embrace and help me accept myself. I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.”
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