The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is currently in production as the Netflix series gets ready to end its run. The fantasy show has already begun filming, but many details remain under wraps. Also, we were hoping that Netflix Geeked Week might have shed some light on the matter, but alas, it was just a false alarm. Season 5’s behind-the-scenes video tour was all we got, despite the fact that it did spark some fan hypotheses.
This is what we know so far.
When Will Stranger Things Season 5 Be Released?
The fifth season of Stranger Things started filming in January of 2024. You can see the cast members back in action in the picture below, which Netflix used to honor the occasion.
On July 4, co-creator Ross Duffer shared some more behind-the-scenes snaps in honor of the shoot hitting the halfway mark. In the caption, he revealed that they’d been filming for 24 weeks, which suggests that the schedule is mapped out across 48 weeks, total. The end of filming is likely to occur in late November as a result of it.
Then, on July 15, Netflix shared a montage video
of the making of the final season at the halfway mark. You can see the cast reunited on set in Hawkins in the video clip that’s shown below. “Season 5 definitely feels bigger,” Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower suggested during the montage, hinting at the upcoming final part.
Season 5’s shoot was the longest of any pre-pandemic season, clocking in at six or seven months. Season 5 of Stranger Things probably won’t premiere until mid to late 2025, given the normal four to five months for visual effects post-production and the Christmas break.
Fortunately, patience isn’t something that Stranger Things viewers are unfamiliar with. There was an almost two-year lag between seasons 2 and 3, and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic halted production for three years.
Is This The Last Season Of Stranger Things?
In terms of Eleven, her friends at Hawkins, and the Upside Down, Stranger Things season 5 will be the last chapter in this story – but that doesn’t mean it’s the last Netflix series that will be set in the Stranger Things universe.
When announcing the looming end of the Netflix show, the Duffer Brothers hinted at a potential spin-off series: “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things. New mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes.”
“We haven’t told anyone the idea yet, much less written it,” they added later on. “We think everyone – including Netflix – will be surprised when they hear the concept, because it’s very, very different. Somehow, Finn Wolfhard – who is one crazy smart kid – correctly guessed what it was going to be about. But aside from Finn, no one else knows!”
While we still don’t know much about the story or the characters, we do know that the Duffer brothers will be executive producing an animated series based on Stranger Things. It’s unclear whether the show will star new characters in the same universe, or be some kind of continuation.
What Could Happen In Stranger Things Season 5?
For now, the exact Stranger Things season 5 plot is unclear, but the Duffer Brothers have offered up some clues as to what to expect – and teased that they have the whole series’ conclusion pretty firmly mapped out. “We know what the ending is,” Matt Duffer had previously stated in an interview with SFX. The possibility of a change exists, but I find it hard to believe because the ending feels, and always has felt, correct. It seems almost inevitable as well. “Oh yeah, that is definitely what it has to be,” you think upon its realization.
Season 4 concluded with every group – in Nevada, Indiana, and Russia, respectively – somewhat unknowingly teaming up to take down Vecna. Max is being baited mentally at the Creel House, while in the Upside Down, Robin, Steve, and Nancy are setting fire to his helpless body. Mike and Will submerge Eleven in a homemade sensory deprivation tank at the same time, and her consciousness travels to Max to help her fight the villain. Will says that Vecna is far from defeated in the last episode.
“Now that I’m back, in Hawkins, I can feel him. And he’s hurt, he’s hurting, but he’s still alive. It’s strange knowing now who it was this whole time. But I can still remember what he thinks, and how he thinks. He’s not gonna stop, ever, not until he’s taken everything… everyone… We have to kill him,” Will solemnly tells Mike.
In an interview with Collider, the showrunners revealed that Will is going to be the “primary focus” of season 5, as the final episodes “circle back to season one.”
Matt explained: “We’re starting to see his coming of age, really, which has been challenging for a number of reasons; some of which are supernatural. But you’re starting to see him come into his own.”
“I think you’ll see that with a couple of the character arcs, not just with Will,” said Ross. “But also with Steve and Nancy, and her relationship with Jonathan, where things are not fully resolved. The characters have maybe made steps, like in the case of Will, but that journey isn’t over yet. All of that is going to play a huge role as we try to wrap this thing up next season.”
“5 is just going to be pedal to the metal from the opening scene,” the latter also told The Wrap, hinting that whatever happens, it’s going to be emotional. “I saw executives crying who I’ve never seen cry before and it was wild.”
“I can just tell you that I’m 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,” Noah Schnapp, who plays Will, more recently teased to Forbes. “The way they closed the show is just perfect – the story started with Will, and it’ll end with Will.”
Season three finale episode director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey) hinted that the show won’t simply conclude with a major battle: “I don’t think Stranger Things falls into a category of television seasons like Game of Thrones where the pilot is cool, slows down, and the last two episodes are the big battle,” he said. “I can tell you, and pointing to other seasons, there is rock and roll throughout the entire season.”
As for how it ends. Well, no one knows. Not the cast, anyway. “They’re waiting to give us the last episode,” Finn Wolfhard told Access Online, “We’ve read up to the second-to-last episode so we’re all on the edge of our seats to find out what the ending is.”
In November 2023, the writers’ room shared the setting of the season 5 opener, through a direction on the script that read: “The sound of cold win. Groaning trees, and a child’s voice singing a familiar song… Could it be The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ that Wil and Jonathan used to sing together often? Or ‘Running Up That Hill’, perhaps?
Many speculations have been made regarding potential developments following the conclusion of Stranger Things: Season 4, Volume 2. We suspect that time travel might factor in in a big way, seeing as the Upside Down was revealed to be stuck in November 1983.
The Duffer brothers teased Tudum in an interview that some major revelations will occur early in season 5, which will impact the plot. “We were like, ‘We know what’s going on in the Upside Down, more or less, but we want it to be unknowable. We want it to be mysterious,'” Matt Duffer explained. “But they were like, ‘Yeah, but can you write it down?’ And so we wrote it all down.”
However, star Harbour, who was present at the finale’s table read, assured us that we are in for an emotional finale. “We just did a read through of the last episode and the amount of crying… like the episode is very beautiful. But there’s also a deeper level of that, this was actually their childhood,” he told Comic Book. “They were 11 years old and grew up and fought this monster. And I’ve never seen so much heavy, heavy weeping from teenagers or young adults in my life.”
Who Will Be In The Cast Of Strangers Things Season 5?
All of the main characters from Stranger Things’ fifth season are back for more filming, according to the cast photo that was released to celebrate the start of production. So, Eleven will be played by Millie Bobby Brown, Mike Wheeler by Finn Wolfhard, and Max Mayfield by Sadie Sink will be returned for another round.
Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), and Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers) are among the other actors who are likely to make a return appearance. Jamie Campbell Bower, who portrays the show’s antagonist Vecna/Henry Creel/One, is also returning.
Additionally, Linda Hamilton has joined the cast. The Terminator franchise has made the action heroine famous for her depiction of Sarah Connor, but little else is known about her character.
“I’ve watched every season with relish. I just love it. So, it’s kind of, like, imposter syndrome where I don’t [feel that I] fit in there,” she previously told US Weekly. “When you really buy into something, you don’t see yourself in it. So, I think in a way, it kind of ruined the show for me. I never watch [a project], once I’m in something. It would just completely take me out of the reality of it to see myself in there. So, I won’t be watching [season 5].”
As an added bonus, in honor of Stranger Things’ eighth anniversary, Netflix revealed three new cast members—Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux—in a montage film that showcased the fifth season in development. However, their exact functions are unknown at this time.
But it appears like those four new characters are all there will be, since Matt Duffer and his brother are planning to “focus on the OG characters” as the show nears its finale. “I just like shaking it up, so we shake it up by changing the plot or adding in a new monster,” Indiewire reported. “We’re doing our best to resist [adding new characters] for Season 5.”
Joseph Quinn, who made his debut in season 4 as Eddie Munson, is one actor who will not be returning. In the ninth episode of the fourth season, a swarm of Demobats slaughtered his character. Shawn Levy told The Hollywood Reporter: “A lot of people can’t even handle the thought of a season 5 without some excuse for Eddie’s presence. [But it’s] highly unlikely, highly unlikely. But we hear you, world, we know. You’re obsessed with Eddie – so are we.”
In addition, Argyle will not be making a return. Eduardo Franco, who plays Jonathan Byers’ pizza-delivering stoner buddy in the show, has confirmed he never got a call about reprising the role in season 5.