Jump to:
- When did Stranger Things season 5 go into production?
- Stranger Things writers share first scene from season five
- What have the Stranger Things cast said about season 5?
- What is the Stranger Things season 5 plot?
- When was Stranger Things season 5 confirmed?
- Who is in the Stranger Things season 5 cast?
- When is the Stranger Things season 5 release date?
- What about a Stranger Things spin-off?
Get ready to go back to the Upside Down with Eleven, Mike, Will and more for the final time, because Stranger Things season five is coming!
The latest season landed on Netflix almost two years ago, and we've been looking ahead to more instalments of the blockbuster sci-fi drama ever since. Is Hawkins safe? Will Eleven face off against Vecna once more? We need to know!
The show's creators have confirmed that a fifth series is definitely happening, but that it will sadly be the last. So, from the cast to plot and more, here is everything you need to know about Stranger Things season five.
When did Stranger Things season 5 go into production?
On 8th January 2024, Netflix revealed filming for the fifth and final series of the hit show had officially begun. They shared a cast picture which features the likes of Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown:
Then, on 16th July 2024, we got an exciting update on season five with our first sneak peak at the series. Netflix shared a video featuring our favourite Hawkins residents and revealed that they're halfway through filming the final season. Watch the full thing here:
Stranger Things writers share first scene from season five
At the end of 2023, the writers of Stranger Things shared a first look at the opening scene from season five and it is chilling.
Posting on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official Stranger Things writers' account shared a picture of the screenplay of the opening scene and it says: "DARKNESS. The sound of COLD WIND. GROANING TREES. And... A CHILD'S VOICE. Singing a familiar song:"
Sorry but what does this mean?? Which child is going to be singing? Eleven? Mike? Or perhaps someone we haven't met yet? And which song are they singing? Should we expect the return of 'Running Up That Hill'? We want answers now!
What have the Stranger Things cast said about season 5?
David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper in the Netflix show, spoke to the Happy Sad Confused podcast in August 2023 to give a small insight into what to expect. In terms of the upcoming season's storyline, Harbour added, "You've got to imagine where it starts after Season 4 ended," harking back to the season's final moments." Vague.
Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington, also spoke to WWD in August 2023 about the bittersweet nature of the show coming to an end. "It does feel like it's time," he admitted. "It won't be easy for it to end. I mean, I owe my whole career to being on that show and all the opportunities that I had since are because of that show.
"So it's very convoluted. There's a sense of relief, there's a sense of sadness. I guess my goal is to just really soak it up as much as I can while we're doing it, and not take any of it for granted because it's been an amazing ride with such great people.
"And then once it's done, move forward and try to just hold on to the joy that we had when we were making it… Everything has a beginning and the middle and an end. It'll be nice to have the end of this too."
What is the Stranger Things season 5 plot?
As is always the case with Stranger Things, there are almost definitely twists and turns to look forward to. But creators The Duffer Brothers have revealed one key detail about the next season: that it will likely feature a time jump from season four.
"We learn a lot every time we make a [season]," Matt Duffer told TVLine. "We've learned a lot just working with all of our new actors and the ones that we've worked with for a long time over this year [making season 4], so I'm sure it'll change a little bit from that outline."
He continued, "I'm sure we will do a time jump. Ideally, we'd have shot [seasons 4 and 5] 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. Believe it or not, we're still working on season 4. We’re trying to finish the final two episodes, they’re so massive."
Previously, the brothers also teased "more exciting stories" to come from the Stranger Things universe, while also nodding towards what we can expect to happen in the fifth series.
In their S5 announcement statement, the creators wrote: "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."
Elsewhere, the creators teased details on the season five finale, telling SFX, "We know what the ending is."
Matt Duffer went on, "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. And 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.'"
When was Stranger Things season 5 confirmed?
The Stranger Things creators confirmed that season five was indeed going ahead, in an open letter to fans published via Netflix in February 2022. However, they also announced that series five would unfortunately mark the end of Stranger Things.
Ahead of season four's release, they wrote: "Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. 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 soon see for yourselves – we are now hurtling toward our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; season 5 will be the last."
Hey, all good things must come to an end and all that, right?
Netflix also appeared to hint towards the show's final season with an upside down (geddit?) sign reading, "Every ending has a beginning." Cryptic.
Who is in the Stranger Things season 5 cast?
We'd expect all of our favourite Stranger Things cast members to be back on our screens for season five, including Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Noah Schnapp (Will), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Sadie Sink (Max), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Joe Keery (Steve), Priah Ferguson (Erica) and Winona Ryder (Joyce).
Fans are also hoping some of the new season four characters will return, like Eduardo Franco as Argyle (but maybe not Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna.) A whole host of new characters joined the cast for season four, so we can expect the same will happen in season five.
When is the Stranger Things season 5 release date?
We sadly might be waiting a while for season five - production only started in January 2024, almost two years after season four dropped on streaming platforms. "We're going to take a little vacation in July [2022]” Ross Duffer told Collider after season four part two dropped. "And then we're going to come back. I know that the writer's room is going to start in that first week of August 2022."
Separately, David Harbour, who plays Hopper, also theorised about a potential release date for the fifth and final season (but that was before the SAG-Aftra strikes, which put much of the TV industry on pause.) "I think we'll [shoot] next year [2023]," he told GQ. "They're finishing writing it this year, and they need to prep and stuff, so hopefully it'll be this year.
"But I think that's the plan. So it'd probably come out mid-2024, based on our track record." In June 2024, Maya Hawke explained why there will be a delay before season five comes out, due to the production values and length of the Stranger Things series.
"We’re making, basically, eight movies. The episodes are very long," she said on Badgley's Podcrushed podcast. She addedthat it's a "very intense and serious" process, saying, "It takes a long time to write each season, and it takes a long time to shoot them."
Filming on Stranger Things season four wrapped around September 2021, with the series released in late May 2022 - around eight months later. Hey, at least there are four whole seasons on Netflix to keep us going in the meantime!
What about a Stranger Things spin-off?
The good news is, while Stranger Things will end with season five, the creators are already eyeing up the idea of a spin-off - although they've teased it will be completely different to what fans might be expecting.
"I've read these rumours that there's gonna be an Eleven spin-off, that there's gonna be a Steve and Dustin spin-off or that it's another number," the Duffer Brothers said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in July 2022. "That's not interesting to me because we've done all that. We've spent I don't know how many hours exploring all of that. So it's very different."
Instead, Matt and Ross suggest the spin-off will be attached to the original series by "storytelling sensibility", whatever that means.
Stranger Things seasons 1 - 4 are now streaming on Netflix.
Emily Gulla was Cosmopolitan UK’s Former Editorial Assistant/Junior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer, covering celebs, TV and film for the site, magazine and video. She’s interviewed the casts of your favourite TV shows, from Bridgerton to Derry Girls and Stranger Things, as well as dozens of Love Islanders. She also loves getting stuck into long-read features, writing on all things digital culture (including her favourite topic: memes), and dating - having appeared on the radio to discuss dating.
Emily's work has also been published on ELLE, Women's Health, Harper's Bazaar, Digital Spy and more. She holds a First Class degree in English with Film Studies from King's College London, and even wrote her dissertation on Love Island. You can find Emily on Instagram and LinkedIn, and can see more of her work on her website.
