Breaking down the fifth and final run for the Upside Down saga — from new and returning castmembers to what chaos Vecna might bring to the Hawkins crew in the hit Netflix series.
After seven years, Stranger Things is readying to say goodbye. And on Nov. 6 (when this story first published) — Netflix’s annual Stranger Things Day — what better way to mark the notable date in the world of the Upside Down than by cataloging everything we know about the final season? (On Nov. 6, 1983, Will Byers went missing in Hawkins, Indiana.)
When the sci-fi series hit Netflix in July 2016, it became an unexpected cultural phenomenon. The stars, many of whom landed their first major roles with this show, were barely preteens, and the draw for many was Winona Ryder. (The Hollywood Reporter angled its review as “Winona Ryder in Stranger Things.“)
Since then, however, Stranger Things has broken several Netflix records. Season four of the now-hit series set a Nielsen record for the most watched show ever at the time, racking up more than 7 billion minutes of viewing time in a single week. It was also the most streamed series of the entire year.
When the show, created by Matt and Ross Duffer, announced its fifth season would be the last, fans were overcome with a sense of sadness, though it wasn’t unexpected. After all, the once-child stars are now well into their late teens and early 20s.
“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things,” the Duffer brothers wrote in an open letter to fans in February 2022, noting that the show was coming to an end. “At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four but — as you’ll see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale.”
Season four of the hit series, which was split into a two-part release, revealed that every villain taken on by the Hawkins crew — played by Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Joe Keery, David Harbour, Winona Ryder and Brett Gelman — stemmed from one Big Bad: Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower), also known as “001” and “Vecna.”
The final season of Stranger Things was originally set to begin production in the summer of 2023, but the dual writers and actors strikes delayed production. The Duffer brothers closed down the show’s writers room on May 6, at the start of the WGA strike. When that strike ended, the co-showrunners announced they were back in business.
Netflix announced the season five episode titles, which give a little bit of insight into what fans can expect: “The Crawl,” “The Vanishing of _,” “The Turnbow Trap,” “Sorcerer,” “Shock Jock,” “Escape From Camazotz,” “The Bridge” and “The Rightside Up.”
Despite the streamer revealing all of the episode titles, it seemingly censored out a part of the second episode title, “The Vanishing Of,” hinting that Netflix is not ready to reveal who or what may be vanishing. The title also hints at a potential throwback to the Stranger Things premiere episode, “The Vanishing of Will Byers.”
On Jan. 8, 2024, several months after this story first published, Netflix announced that the final season had officially gone into production. By now — November 2024 — production is coming up on its end, as the season is set to debut sometime in 2025.
Below, The Hollywood Reporter breaks down everything there is to know (so far) about Stranger Things’ fifth and final season — from new and returning castmembers to what chaos Vecna might bring to Hawkins in its last run.
When Will ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Be Released?
Prior to the dual actors and writers strikes, Stranger Things season five was expected to premiere sometime in early 2025, according to star Finn Wolfhard. In a GQ video, the actor said that he would be 22 when season five finally hit Netflix. The eyed date lined up with what the Duffer brothers had said in 2022 about the time between seasons four and five being much shorter than the break between seasons three and four because they weren’t expecting another six-month hiatus like the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2024, the streamer confirmed the fifth and final season will, in fact, debut in 2025, but it’s unclear when in the year it’ll hit Netflix. Previous seasons of the Emmy-winning show have been released in the summer or the fall.
Filming was originally set to take place in the summer of 2023, but when the writers strike was called in May, the Duffer brothers took to social media to announce that though they were done with the preliminary scripts for season five, “Writing does not stop when filming begins.” They continued, “While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out.”
Two months later, SAG-AFTRA called the actors strike, which would go on to further delay the start of production on season five. Once the actors strike ended (the WGA had since reached a deal), the busy schedules of the starry young cast, as well as the elaborate visual effects in the edit, likely prolonged the restart, perhaps pushing it to later in 2025 or even early 2026.
On Jan. 8, Netflix announced that season five has officially begun production, and shared a photo of the returning cast and with Ross and Matt Duffer.
Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
Months later, on July 15, Netflix revealed that production was just about at the halfway point. And the streamer marked the milestone by releasing a behind-the-scenes video (below) of the cast in character and some of the final season sets. Millie Bobby Brown has previously said filming is expected to wrap around Christmas.
“It’s really crazy,” Wolfhard said in a March 2024 interview with THR. “You think about how to be as present as possible, but then at the same time, you’re conflicted that this is the last one. So I’m trying to find that balance of staying present while also knowing that this is going to be the last season. But it’s been great.”
Who in the Cast Is Returning?
The majority of the Stranger Things main cast came out of season four unscathed, so it seemed safe to say that Brown (Eleven), Wolfhard (Mike), Noah Schnapp (Will), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Priah Ferguson (Erica), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), Maya Hawke (Robin), Joe Keery (Steve), David Harbour (Hopper), Winona Ryder (Joyce) and Brett Gelman (Murray) would be returning for the final installment.
One main character whose fate was up in the air was Sadie Sink’s Max. At the end of season four, Max is left in a coma following her heart stopping for a full minute after becoming a victim of Vecna’s curse. While Max is still technically alive (she has a pulse), there’s no telling how long that’ll last.
However, the picture shared by Netflix for the restart of production (above) confirms that Sink will be involved in the final run. In what capacity remains to be seen. She is pictured with all of the cast noted above, as well as Cara Buono, Amybeth McNulty, Jamie Campbell Bower and new castmember Linda Hamilton.
One character who will not return in the same capacity is Joseph Quinn’s beloved Eddie Munson, who died at the end of season four after helping the crew defeat Vecna. However, Stranger Things is the Duffers’ world, and the audience is just living in it. So while Eddie may not be alive in the final season, the showrunners did tease on a previous appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that his death will have “huge repercussions” for those who made it out of season four alive, and you can never rule out an otherworldly cameo or flashback.
It seems like Quinn himself isn’t even ruling out coming back somehow. During the premiere of A Quiet Place: Day One, in which he stars alongside Lupita Nyong’o, The Fantastic Four star tried to play coy when asked if he’d be returning. “I guess nothing’s impossible. I don’t know,” he said with a sly smile.
On the flip side, Campbell Bower (aka Henry, 001 and Vecna), will be sticking around in a big way in the final season. At the end of season four, the group is able to briefly overpower the Big Bad, but he survives and retreats, hurt but still strong enough to wreak havoc on Hawkins and cause a natural disaster with devastating consequences. Bower told THR he believes that his character isn’t “suffering,” but “rebuilding.” And Bower did admit at the time, “Let me put it this way: I know about season five. Take from that what you will.”
Which Actors Will Be Joining the Cast for Season 5?
Linda Hamilton for ‘Stranger Things’ season five.
Not much has been revealed about the plot for final stretch. One actress who will be touching down in Hawkins, however, is 1980s icon Linda Hamilton. Details about the Terminator star’s role in the show are being kept under wraps for now.
In an interview with IndieWire in August 2022, co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer said they were doing their best to resist adding new characters.
“Whenever we introduce a new character, we want to make sure that they’re going to be an integral part of the narrative,” Ross said. “But every time we do that, we’re nervous, because you go, ‘We’ve got a great cast of characters here, and actors, and any moment we’re spending with a new character, we’re taking time away from one of the other actors.’”
In July, Netflix announced three new faces to the season five cast: Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly and Alex Breaux. But that doesn’t mean that the creators aren’t still putting a focus on the show’s already-established cast.
Matarazzo told THR in an interview tied to his upcoming role in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy that his character (and all of them, for that matter) have been working with other people in Stranger Things season five who they haven’t always spent that much time onscreen with.
“I think everybody in the show can be expected to be paired differently from what we’ve come to expect,” he said. “It elevates the character work quite a lot and gives everybody a lot of fun opportunities. So across the board, [new pairings] may be happening, and maybe less so with Dustin, but that’s been fun to explore too.”
What Do We Know About the Plot of Season 5?
Toward the end of Stranger Things season four, the Hawkins crew reunites and seemingly overpowers Vecna from separate corners and dimensions of the world. They outsmart and flambé him, thinking they’ve won — but he survives and retreats. In the final moments of the penultimate season’s finale, it is revealed that Vecna’s curse succeeded, despite Max still technically being alive. Hawkins splits into four pieces and the group looks down at their home as the villain’s final chapter begins.
The Duffer brothers have revealed a few things since the season four finale dropped on July 1, 2022. For starters, Will is a “big part and focus” of the final season, the showrunners told Collider in an interview following the fourth season. “We’re starting to see his coming of age, really,” Matt said. “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.” Ross added that season five will most likely bring fans full circle to season one, when Will was trapped in the Upside Down, as well as potentially with Steve and Nancy, since she and Jonathan seem to be hitting a rough patch that’s not fully resolved.
Secondly, season five is going to have a time jump, considering the actors who play the kids are all approaching (or already in) their 20s, despite technically still being in high school in the Stranger Things world. “I’m sure we will do a time jump,” Ross told TVLine in June 2022. “Ideally, we’d have shot [seasons four and five] back to back, but there was just no feasible way to do that. So these are all discussions we’re going to have with our writers when we start the room up.” Netflix confirmed that the show would jump a little over a year to the fall of 1987, after season four took place in March 1986.
Third, Vecna is back — though fans don’t know in what capacity the show’s Big Bad will return. When THR asked Jamie Campbell Bower how Vecna will factor into the show’s endgame following the villain’s journey throughout the fourth season, he basically admitted he’d be back. And as for whether or not the Hawkins kids can beat him, well, it’s a possibility. “There’s always an opportunity for the good guys to win,” he said. “I think in this case, they’d have to be way smarter than they have been thus far because Henry is not one to forget and not one to let things slide.”
In December 2023, Stranger Things made its way to London’s West End for The First Shadow, a stage play that takes place in 1959 Hawkins when Hopper, Bob Newby (played by Sean Astin in the Netflix series) and Joyce are all in high school. “When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy … and the shadows of the past have a very long reach,” the play’s description reads. “This gripping new adventure will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story — and may hold the key to the end.” So, it’s probably safe to assume something in Joyce, Hopper and Henry’s past will come back in some way, shape or form in the show’s ending.
Netflix dropped a first-look featurette at The First Shadow as part of Stranger Things Day (check that out here and read more about the Stranger Things spinoff plans below). In August, it was announced the play would be taking a trip across the pond and debuting on Broadway in the spring of 2025.
The Duffer brothers know how the show ends — and, yes, it made executives cry. The creators shared on a panel in November 2022 that one of the things they’re trying to balance in season five is giving the characters a chance to complete their arcs while also tying up loose ends and final reveals.
While the specifics of the fifth and final season are being kept mostly under wraps. Wolfhard told THR in March 2024 that the “last season is sort of a crossroads, and so we’re getting back into a lot of the dynamics of season one, which is really fun.” He added, “There’s some ‘leader Mike’ moments, and it’s a very grand season, obviously. Every season has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, and this season is huge, but it’s also kind of isolated as well.” However, he did not explain how, exactly, the fifth installment will be isolating.
Matarazzo agreed with Wolfgard that this season will be bigger, as many of the show’s cast and crew have teased thus far. The actor behind the show’s beloved Dustin noted that making season five the “biggest, darkest, scariest” one yet is “the goal.”
“That’s certainly the intention behind writing it,” he told THR in September. “The one consistency of this show is that it just grows every year in scale and size and in the message that they want to bring. So this season is not different in the slightest, and I knew that they had prepped that, initially. They said, ‘Hey, this one is going to be really, really big. We’re not going to candy-coat it: it’s a full year shoot.’ And that led to a big reaction of, like, ‘Oh, so we’re really going for it.’ So we have been [going for it], and we still are. I’m excited for people to see it.”
Is This the End of ‘Stranger Things’?
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield.
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Back in February 2022, ahead of season four of Stranger Things dropping on Netflix, the Duffer brothers announced that the upcoming installment would be the penultimate, and season five would be the last of the show. They wrote an open letter explaining that when they began the story seven years prior, they pictured it running for four or five seasons.
“With nine scripts, over 800 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 wrote, noting it was “the beginning of the end.”
The letter continued, “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes. But first, we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternate dimension known only as the Upside Down.”
Had the Duffers wanted to continue the show, they may have hit some walls with the actors. Brown, Keery and Harbour, among others, have all expressed being ready to say goodbye to the series, despite having a lot of love for it and their fellow stars.
“I owe my whole career to being on that show and all the opportunities that I had since are because of that show,” Keery said. “So it’s very convoluted. There’s a sense of relief, there’s a sense of sadness.” Brown, who plays the show’s main character, told Seventeen that she was “very ready to say goodbye” to Eleven and was excited “to create stories myself that are important to me and focus on the bigger picture.” Harbour echoed Keery and Brown and said it was time to “leave that nest and try other things and different projects. And to let the Duffer brothers try different things as well.”
Matarazzo has also opened up about the final season and how as they’re steadily approaching wrapping production, he’s wishing for a “Time-Turner.”
“It’s been a pretty jarring thing to realize how quickly it all flew by. I remember so many things from that first season so vividly as if it was yesterday. We were so young, and it was such a weird, wild experience that it kind of blended together,” he told THR. “At this point, I’ve almost been doing Stranger Things longer than I haven’t. It’s taken about a decade of my life and it’s the most formative decade of my life. So I’ll always be really grateful, and coming to terms with letting that go is increasingly difficult, for sure, in a work sense and in a life sense. You can always expect that next season, work-wise and emotionally. So it’s going to be a different adjustment and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
In July 2022, the Duffer brothers revealed plans for a spinoff series — the details of which are being kept under wraps — along with an animated series set in the same world. It was one of five projects the siblings announced as part of their overall deal with Netflix, including a stage play set within the world of Stranger Things.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow has since arrived on London’s West End (and, soon, Broadway) with a three-hour, effects-driven stage spectacle spinning a new origin story for the nefarious Vecna. Read THR‘s review.
Ahead of the show’s final season, Netflix also announced it was launching its “Stranger Season,” which would include experiences, activations, new consumer products and a new comic book collection, making the show impossible to miss. The new offerings include a partnership with the fitness brand Peloton; a special screening series curated by the Duffer Brothers at the Egyptian Theatre; Stranger Things-inspired Squishmallows, as well as products from Polly Pocket, ColourPop Cosmetics, Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream, Pandora and a new novel from Penguin Random House.
