Friends don’t lie, and neither does Netflix when it comes to Stranger Things season 5. The streaming service, as well as the cast, has spoken quite frequently about the Emmy-winning show’s final season and has even shared some must-see behind-the-scenes photos on their Instagram broadcast feed. We have all the important photos, quotes and, of course, the latest news on the release date below.
What to know about ‘Stranger Things’ season 5
The show’s creators, Ross and Matt Duffer, have always been quite open and honest about wanting the show to only have four or five seasons, so their decision to end it after the upcoming batch of episodes isn’t that much of a surprise. What is, though, is the plot.
In a recently posted video, the show did confirm that it would take place in the fall of 1987, which is a shift from season four, which took place in March 1986.
Although The Duffer Brothers haven’t publicly commented on what the final season will be about, after the release of season 4, they did admit that they “have an outline for Season 5, and we pitched it to Netflix, and they really responded well to it.”
Then, in July, Netflix released the first behind-the-scenes trailer for Season 5, with the brothers saying at the beginning, “This is the season the fans have been waiting for, and we hope you’re as excited as we are to get to tell the final chapter in this story.” They also confirmed that they were halfway done filming the season at that time.
Millie Bobby Brown—who plays Eleven—also appeared in the teaser trailer, saying, “I started when I was 10. I’m now turning 20 years old. It feels very weird.”
The actress’ real-life best friend, Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, also has a small speaking role in the trailer. “It’s just so exciting. I think this is going to be the best season yet,” he said.
Perhaps the most chilling line in the trailer comes from Jamie Campbell Bower—who plays Vecna/One—when he utters, “If season 4 was big, season 5 definitely feels bigger,” while getting his prosthetic makeup done.
You can watch the video below!
Another person who has spoken quite candidly about season 5 of Stranger Things is star David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper.
He even revealed his favorite episode, saying that season 5, episode 8 “is the best episode they’ve ever done.”
“The end of this episode when we were reading it — just us reading it — about halfway through, people started crying,” he continued. “Then about the last 20 minutes, it was just uncontrollably crying, waves of different people. Noah Schnapp being my favorite.”
“It’s such a great episode, and it’s such a great season. You guys will love it.”
Who will be in season 5 of ‘Stranger Things?’
On January 8, 2024, Netflix and The Duffer Brothers announced in a photo that everyone from the show’s previous season would be returning for season 5. This includes Sadie Sink, whose character, Max Mayfield, ended up in a coma at the end of season 4.
The actress also teased what fans could expect from her storyline in the upcoming season, saying, “They love having me run. That’s all I’ll say.”
Matt Duffer elaborated on Sink’s role, saying, “She’s going to play a part in the season,” with Ross Duffer finishing that sentence by adding, “But we don’t want to reveal how that’s possible.”
“Right, because she’s in a coma,” Matt concluded. “We did film a scene the other day with her that was just absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how she hits those notes.”
Is anyone joining the ‘Stranger Things’ season 5 cast?
Stranger Things is notorious for adding new cast members to every season.
“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 before adding, “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 season 2, Sink’s character Max and her brother Billy (Dacre Montgomery), along with Lucas’ Caleb McLaughlin) sister, Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson); Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser) and Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) were added to the cast. In season three, it was Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke), and in season four, it was Vecna/One (Bower) and Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn). All of these characters were important when it came to defeating whatever evil emerged from The Upside Down that season.
And now it looks like season 5 isn’t going to be any different. Joining the gang in Hawkins is actress Linda Hamilton, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly and Alex Breaux.
Hamilton is especially excited, saying, “I don’t know how to be a fangirl and an actress at the same time. I’m going to work on that.” She was also seen in the show’s teaser trailer on the set lot.
It is unclear what role Hamilton and the other newcomers will play, but given how important the show’s past editions have been, we can bet these will be just as big.
When is ‘Stranger Things’ season 5 going to release?
Stranger Things season 5 is set to release in 2025, three years after the release of season 4. The official date has yet to be announced, but production has revealed that the episodes will be entitled “The Crawl,” “The Vanishing of [redacted],” “The Turnbow Trap,” “Sorcerer,” “Shock Jock,” “Escape from Camazotz,” “The Bridge” and “The Rightside Up.”
