The Duffer Brothers revealed whether we’ll see more of Mike, Eleven and the gang following the finale of the hit Netflix sci-fi series.

After what feels like a decade, the fifth and final season of Stranger Things seems to finally be on the horizon, dropping sometime in 2025. In the yearslong lead-up to it, many fans of the hit Netflix sci-fi series had wondered what stories in Hawkins might continue past the show’s conclusion. With an ever-growing cast of characters (both in number and age), depending on how the show ends, there are plenty of possible stories that could continue.

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Unfortunately for fans, it seems those stories will be left on the table. Stranger Things creators, directors and executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer (also known as “The Duffer Brothers”) were presented with a Variety Showrunner Award at this year’s SCAD TVfest in Atlanta. During a panel, the moderator brought up the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which is coming to Broadway in April. He then asked if the two would be interested in pursuing any future stories themselves, either in games, series, or even a film.

“We’re taking it one step at a time,” replied Matt.

“We don’t wanna rush anything,” said Ross. “We don’t wanna just do something just to do it, or for commercial reasons. We want it to have a real reason to exist and something that we’re all excited about.”

In response, that’s when Matt dropped a bomb, crushing any dreams Stranger Things fans had of seeing these beloved characters again after Season 5.

“This story, these characters’ stores, that’s done,” he said. “That whole story is coming to an end. There’s not like a Steve/Dustin spinoff or something like that.”

Understandably, the news was met with vocal reactions from the audience, even more so when the Duffers jokingly made it vague as to whether that fan-favorite duo would make it out of the series alive. Matt followed up by explaining, “The hope is that we finish telling this story. And then you leave it and tell new stories. And hopefully, there are new characters that people can fall in love with.”

As the Duffer Brothers are indicating, this does not mean that any chances of future stories in Hawkins are dead in the water. Indeed, given how much Stranger Things has been a key part in putting Netflix on the map as a curator of original content—and the massive popularity of the show—the streamer would be leaving money on the table if they chose not to pursue any future stories set in the universe. But, no matter when the final season comes, the Duffers just made one thing clear. This will truly be a final farewell for Eleven, Dustin, Mike, Hopper and the other characters we’ve grown to love over nearly a decade.