Stranger Things Season 5: Everything we know so far

What will finally happen to Max and Eddie? Here’s everything you need to know about the release date, trailer, cast, plot, and more of Stranger Things Season 5.

Stranger Things is undoubtedly a global phenomenon at this point. The Duffer Brothers’ captivating horror and ’80s nostalgia-fest has been going strong since 2016, with fans eagerly tuning in amid the release of each new chapter.

Sadly, Season 5 is set to conclude the Netflix show, with Vecna returning to terrorize the beloved main characters. Despite the sacrifices made by Eddie Munson and other characters, evil wants revenge.

So, here’s everything you need to know about the final season. In case you somehow still haven’t watched it yet, warning: Stranger Things Season 4 spoilers ahead…

Contents

• Is there a Stranger Things Season 5 release date?
• Are there Stranger Things Season 5 casting details?
• Stranger Things Season 5 trailers
• Stranger Things Season 5 plot: What will it be about?
• Stranger Things Season 5: What happened in Season 4?

Is there a Stranger Things Season 5 release date?

No, a release date is yet to be confirmed for the fifth season of Stranger Things. And with the recent strikes, Season 5 production is now delayed.

In an interview with Collider, David Harbour initially implied that Season 5 of the show was set to start filming in the middle of 2023.

“We’re walking into season five. I’ve got a couple more months to train. We start shooting that in June, though, and that will be the final season. I did a lot of training for season four. He [Hopper] was in a very specific position, that Russian prison.”

However, these plans have now been interrupted. The Duffers Brothers, best known as the creators of Stranger Things, took to Twitter to confirm that the show will be stopping development in support of the Writer’s Guild strike.

“Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. 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.”

Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. 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. #wgastrong

— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) May 6, 2023

Any potential developments have then been thrown further in the dark with the recent SAG-AFTRA strikes, as reported by Variety.

Based on some behind-the-scenes tweets for Season 5, all information points at the finale season being eight episodes all up. However, it is still unclear how long each episode will go for. Season 5 might mirror the last and have a movie-length finale episode or better yet, have multiple episodes span a two-hour long run time.

But it seems like the Stranger Things team is ready to give fans more cemented clues concerning what the final season will be about through their new stage play. According to Discussing Film, the stage show is a prequel set in 1959 where Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously, Joyce wants to graduate, and Henry Creel arrives.

The ‘STRANGER THINGS’ stage show will offer clues about the final season.

The stage show is a prequel set in 1959 where Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously, Joyce wants to graduate & Henry Creel arrives. pic.twitter.com/rBk7vmxggN

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 5, 2023

Are there Stranger Things Season 5 cast details?

So far, it seems like most of the main cast will be returning for Season 5. This includes:

• Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
• Finn Wolfhard as Mike
• Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas
• Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin
• Noah Schnapp as Will
• Natalia Dyer as Nancy
• Joe Keery as Steve
• Charlie Heaton as Jonathan
• Maya Hawke as Robin
• Winona Ryder as Joyce
• David Harbour as Hopper

While it’s likely that Sadie Sink will return as Max, considering she’s been left in a coma by Season 4’s end, it’s unclear to what capacity she’ll be appearing. It also seems like fan-fave character Eddie Munson, played by Joe Quinn, will be staying dead, and won’t be returning for Season 5.

There have also been reports that Season 5 will use digital techniques to de-age the existing cast in order to make the actors look younger.

As for new additions to the cast, Season 5 will actually include an 80s icon, that being Linda Hamilton, AKA Sarah Conner from the Terminator franchise. Right now her role is unnamed.

Now, with this being the final season, it’s expected that not every character is going to make it. “Well, it’s the last season, so people are probably going to die,” as described by Maya Hawke to Rolling Stone. “I would love to die and get my hero’s moment. I’d love to die with honor, as any actor would.

“But I love the way that the Duffer Brothers love their actors. The reason that they write so beautifully for me and for everyone else is because they fall in love with their actors and their characters, and they don’t want to kill them. I think that’s a beautiful quality that they have, and I wouldn’t wish it away.”  

As for Noah Schnapp, after coming out as gay shortly after confirming his character Will is gay, he told Variety: “I think the way I act in Season 5, honestly, might be a little different. I will be fully aware of who I am. Knowing all of that about myself and being able to invest that in my character, I’m honestly just excited.”

In the same interview, Ross Duffer said: “Will really takes center stage again in Season 5. This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality – it’s Will coming into his own as a young man.”

Another of the key cast members, Millie Bobby Brown, said in an August 2023 interview with Women’s Wear Daily – conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike – that while the Season 5 finale will be bittersweet, she’s ready for the series to end.

“I think I’m ready. It’s been such a huge factor in part of my life, but it’s like graduating high school, it’s like senior year,” she told the outlet. “You’re ready to go and blossom and flourish and you’re grateful for the time you’ve had, but it’s time to create your own message and live your own life.” 

Stranger Things Season 5 trailer: Is there a trailer?

While there is no official trailer yet, there have been some teasing videos. One in particular shows beloved venue Scoops Ahoy in disrepair, which you can check out below:

excuse our mess… pic.twitter.com/38FRV5pT9A

— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) September 12, 2023

Stranger Things Season 5 plot: What will it be about?

Speaking with Variety on their Showrunners Sitdown segment, the Duffer Brothers explained that “the only thing we don’t delve into in Volume 2 is Upside Down lore.”

It seems that the next season will flesh out the demonic underworld even more as “a lot of those answers for the Upside Down is really what the basis of Season 5 is about.” The Upside Down is home to monsters such as the Mind Flayer and Season 4 baddie Vecna, but fans have been eager to learn more about its origin.

The Duffers are certain of one thing: the ending. “We know what the ending is,” they told SFX.

“It’s conceivable that it changes but I think it’s unlikely because it’s one of those endings that just feels, and has always felt, right. It also feels sort of inevitable. Then when you come up with it, you’re like, ‘Oh yeah well, that is absolutely what is has to be.'”

David Harbour also said he knows how the series ends, and it’s going to be “very, very moving.”

As well as this, it appears that Season 5 is shaping up to be the most emotional season to date. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Stranger Things creators revealed that they made Netflix executives cry when they read through the first script for the upcoming season.

“We did get our executives to cry, which I felt was a good sign that these executives were crying. The only other times I’ve seen them cry were like budget meetings,” Matt joked.

They also teased to the Happy Sad Confused podcast: “Characters are already going to be in action, they’re already going to have a goal and a drive, and I think that’s going to carve out at least a couple hours and make this season feel really different.”

As for the cast, Finn Wolfhard has stated to Collider that he has read scripts for the first 3 episodes of the final season, but he still doesn’t know the ending: “Well, I think it answers an insane amount of questions about the lore of Stranger Things, the world-building. I think a lot of people will be happy with getting back– It’s the last season, so we kind of want to get back to the roots of why the show was so special in the first place, and why the dynamics are so special in the first place, and sort of getting back to that.

“It’s gonna be really exciting. I’m excited, obviously, to go back and shoot it. I think it’s gonna be very sad, but I’m also just excited, as a fan, to get into it, and I’m excited to see where everyone– I didn’t even know how it ends yet, truly. I’ve only read the first three, so we’ll see. But yeah, I’m excited to see where all the characters’ journeys go.”

Stranger Things Season 5: What happened in Season 4?

Over the course of Season 4, we’ve seen the Hawkins kids scramble to uncover the mystery of Vecna, a supernatural killer who was originally 001 in Dr. Martin Brenner’s studies. After Eleven banished him to the Upside Down, the harsh conditions of the otherworldly realm transformed him into a formidable foe.

We’ve seen Vecna exercise his brutal powers over innocent teens, starting with Chrissy’s horrific death in Episode 1 and working his way to Max in Episode 4, who narrowly escaped his eye-pinching grasp with the power of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. Unfortunately, she wasn’t lucky enough to get away unscathed a second time, and is now stuck in a coma, where she seems to be staying until Season 5.

After spending some time in a Russian prison, Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman were able to successfully bring Hopper home, though not before he epically beheaded a Demogorgon. The California crew of Mike, Will, Johnathan, and new character Argyle also made it back to Hawkins, though Hawkins isn’t exactly the best place to be at the moment.

Having succeeded in his plan to sacrifice four kids, Vecna is able to open a giant gate across Hawkins, bringing the Upside Down the right side up. In the final moments of the season, our heroes watch black smoke pour out from the gate, threatening what’s to come in Season 5.

Eleven may have regained her powers after working with the late Doctor Brenner, but will this be enough for her to face the biggest danger Hawkins has ever known?

Are you looking forward to Stranger Things Season 5? Be sure to keep updated with the show as more news develops.

That’s everything we know about Stranger Things Season 5 and you can read about Eddie’s prequel book here. We’ll update this page upon further announcements, and in the meantime, you can check out our other TV hubs below:

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