Stranger Things is no exception; even the best things eventually end. No premiere date has been announced for the fifth season of the critically acclaimed science fiction thriller that has been streaming on Netflix since the summer of 2016. In a heartfelt letter to fans published on February 17, 2022, the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, broke the news.
“We laid out the whole narrative arc for Stranger Things seven years ago,” they wrote. We thought the narrative would have four or five seasons when we were making our predictions.
The story was too big to fit into four parts, but we’re racing toward the end, as you’ll see for yourself. Season 5 will be the last one, while Season 4 will be the penultimate one.
The fourth season of Stranger Things has concluded, and with it came a very action-packed ending. Now comes the long wait for the fifth and final chapter. Our current understanding is as follows.
Stranger Things Season 5 Release Date
We were probably still at least a year away from the new Netflix content’s debut when Season 5 was initially scheduled to begin production in May 2023.
However, work was pushed back until the unions representing the authors and performers ended their months-long strikes. Season 5 of Stranger Things is expected to premiere in the winter of 2025, or maybe in early 2026, rather than the summer, as was previously thought.
Stranger Things Storyline
The 1980s American small town of Hawkins, Indiana, is the setting for Stranger Things. Nearby Hawkins National Laboratory conducts covert experimentation with the supernatural and paranormal, sometimes using human test subjects while pretending to do scientific studies for the US Department of Energy.
The inhabitants of Hawkins start to feel disastrous effects from an alternative reality they call the Upside Down, which they unintentionally opened via a portal they made.
Stranger Things season 5 cast speculation
Season 5 of Stranger Things will include the return of all the key cast members, including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, David Harbour, and Winona Ryder.
Linda Hamilton, who played the lead role in Terminator, will be joining the cast of Stranger Things for season 5 on Saturday, June 27, 2023.
There is also some intriguing news on the artistic front: Director Dan Trachtenberg, known for his work on 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey, has agreed to helm an episode or two in the last season. That is fantastic news, given his skill in science fiction and horror.
Here is the cast list for season 5 of Stranger Things:
- Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
- Finn Wolfhard as Mike
- Noah Schnapp as Will
- Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin
- Sadie Sink as Max
- Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas
- Priah Ferguson as Erica
- David Harbour as Jim Hopper
- Maya Hawke as Robin
- Charlie Heaton as Jonathan
- Eduardo Franco as Argyle
- Winona Ryder as Joyce
- Joe Keery as Steve
- Natalia Dyer as Nancy
- Bret Gelman as Murray
- Tom Wlaschiha as Dmitri
Matthew Modine, who played Dr. Brenner (called Papa), will not be returning, and neither will Joseph Quinn, who played the beloved Eddie Munson, or Mason Dye, who played Jason Carver. And while Sadie Sink’s Max was left a bit worse for wear after experiencing the wrath of Vecna in the season 4 finale, the actress has all but guaranteed [via Deadline] that Max will be making an appearance in the future season.
Stranger Things Season 5: What happened in Season 4?
Throughout Season 4, we’ve seen as the Hawkins kids work feverishly to solve the mystery of Vecna, a supernatural murderer who was once subject 001 in Dr. Martin Brenner’s experiments. The harsh surroundings of the Upside Down made him a deadly opponent when Eleven exiled him there.
From the tragic murder of Chrissy in the first episode to Max’s brief escape from Vecna’s eye-pinning grip in the fourth, we have witnessed Vecna’s cruel capabilities on innocent teenagers. She was not so fortunate the second time around and is now in a coma, where she will likely remain until Season 5.
Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman successfully extradited Hopper from a Russian jail, but not before he famously severed the head of a Demogorgon. Even though Hawkins isn’t exactly the ideal location to be at the time, the California crew of Mike, Will, and Johnathan plus the new character Argyle have all returned there.
Vecna can move the Upside Down to the right side of Hawkins when his plot to sacrifice four children succeeds. As the season comes to a close, the heroes see black smoke billowing out of the gate, a portent of bad things to come in Season 5.
Stranger Things season 5 plot
While the specific events of Stranger Things Season 5 have not yet been revealed, the Duffer Brothers have given fans a few hints and hinted that they have the series’ ending very well plotted out.
In an earlier interview with SFX, Matt Duffer said, “We know what the ending is.” It’s possible the ending may be revised, but I see it as very improbable since it’s the kind of conclusion that feels right and always has. It has an air of inevitability about it as well. Then you think, “Oh yeah, well, that is absolutely what it has to be,” when you finally think of it.
At the end of Season 4, the three groups in Nevada, Indiana, and Russia somewhat inadvertently joined together to defeat Vecna. In the Upside Down, Robin, Steve, and Nancy set fire to his vulnerable body while Max hooks his mind at the Creel House.
At the same time as Mike and Will submerge Eleven in a homemade sensory deprivation tank, her mind travels to Max to give her a hand in her fight against the villain. However, Vecna is “far from defeated,” as Will says after episode 9.
Plenty of speculation was made after Stranger Things season 4 volume 2. After learning that Upside Down was permanently frozen in November 1983, we can’t help but wonder whether time travel will play a major role. Eddie Munson’s possible reappearance as a new antagonist has sparked speculation among some watchers.
The ‘lost sister’ of Eleven will assist her in fighting Vecna after the season is another popular theory, as is the idea that Max is the key to Vecna’s scheme.
Stranger Things Season 5 Episodes
The exact number of episodes in Season 5 has not yet been determined, but considering that Seasons 1 and 3 each had eight episodes and Seasons 2 and 4 each had nine, it seems probable that Season 5 will also have a similar number of episodes.
How much narrative the Duffer brothers choose to convey in the final season will determine how the show ends. Shorter than season 4 episodes are expected to be, except the season finale. Season 5’s finale will be “at least two hours,” according to the Duffer brothers, although it won’t be as lengthy as Season 4’s.
Stranger Things Season 5 Trailer
Since production on Stranger Things season 5 has not yet begun, we probably won’t see a trailer for the next season until early 2025. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a lighthearted diversion from the gloomy moments of season 4, here are some bloopers to brighten your day: