Stranger Things season 5: Everything we know so far about the Netflix show's final chapter

Stranger Things season 5 marks the end of the road for Netflix's beloved sci-fi show, and we know now it's arriving in 2025. The hit series has been filming for a while and the latest teaser has finally arrived, giving us some much-needed new details. But, of course, this is Stranger Things, so nothing is crystal clear. In fact, the new episode title details have us scratching our heads as to what exactly they might mean. For the latest on that, as well as what else we know so far, GamesRadar+ has put together this definitive guide to season 5. 

Below, we'll be getting into major details about one of best shows on Netflix (and one of the best TV shows of all time). You'll find details on the new and returning cast, all of the story teases we've had so far, and even some details from the Duffer brothers themselves. That's not all either, as we give our best guess at when exactly Stranger Things season 5 will be released, as well as how it all might end. Ready? Let's head into the Upside Down together...

Stranger Things season 5 release date

Stranger Things season 5 will be released in 2025. However, we don't have a definitive date for its exact release just yet. 

The final chapter of the show has been a long time coming. Production on Stranger Things season 5 began in January 2024. Netflix marked the moment with a picture of all of the cast back in action, which you can see below.

On July 4, co-creator Ross Duffer shared some more behind-the-scenes snaps in honor of the shoot hitting the halfway mark. In the caption, he revealed that they'd been filming for 24 weeks, which suggests that the schedule is mapped out across 48 weeks, total. With that, we can expect cameras to stop rolling in late November.

Then, on July 15, Netflix shared a montage video of the making of the final season at the halfway mark. The clip, which you can watch below, shows the cast back together on set in Hawkins. During the montage, Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower teased the final installment, "Season 4 was big, season 5 definitely feels bigger." 

Pre-pandemic, each season typically took around six to seven months to wrap, which makes season 5's the lengthiest shoot by far. Factor in a Christmas break and lengthy VFX post-production work, which usually takes around four to five months, and we'd guess we won't see Stranger Things season 5 come out until at least mid to late 2025. 

Luckily, Stranger Things fans are no, well... strangers to waiting. Seasons 2 and 3 were almost two years apart, and that was before COVID-19 disrupted things, causing a three-year gap between seasons 3 and 4.

Is Stranger Things season 5 the final season?

In terms of Eleven, her friends at Hawkins, and the Upside Down, Stranger Things season 5 will be the last chapter in this story – but that doesn't mean it's the last Netflix series that will be set in the Stranger Things universe. 

When announcing the looming end of the Netflix show, the Duffer Brothers hinted at a potential spin-off series: "There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things. New mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes." 

"We haven't told anyone the idea yet, much less written it," they added later on. "We think everyone – including Netflix – will be surprised when they hear the concept, because it's very, very different. Somehow, Finn Wolfhard – who is one crazy smart kid – correctly guessed what it was going to be about. But aside from Finn, no one else knows!"

A Stranger Things animated series, with the Duffer brothers set to executive-produce, was also announced, though plot details and characters have yet to be released. It's unclear whether the show will star new characters in the same universe, or be some kind of continuation.

Stranger Things season 5 trailer

Stranger Things 5 | Title Tease | Netflix - YouTube

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We don't have a trailer yet for Stranger Things season 5, but Netflix has released a teaser revealing all of the episode titles of the final season. Well, almost all of them. You can watch the full clip above, which features a very brief synopsis, reading: "In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins." 

The full list of episode titles is:

• Stranger Things season 5 episode 1: 'The Crawl'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 2: 'The Vanishing of [BLURRED]'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 3: 'The Turnbow Trap'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 4: 'Sorcerer'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 5: 'Shock Jock'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 6: 'Escape From Camazotz'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 7: 'The Bridge'
• Stranger Things season 5 episode 8: 'The Rightside Up'

Stranger Things season 5 plot

For now, the exact Stranger Things season 5 plot is unclear, but the Duffer Brothers have offered up some clues as to what to expect – and teased that they have the whole series' conclusion pretty firmly mapped out. "We know what the ending is," Matt Duffer previously said during an interview with 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.'"

Season 4 concluded with every group – in Nevada, Indiana, and Russia, respectively – somewhat unknowingly teaming up to take down Vecna. While Max baits his mind at the Creel House, Robin, Steve, and Nancy set fire to his defenseless physical form in the Upside Down. Simultaneously, Mike and Will dunk Eleven in a makeshift sensory deprivation tank, and her consciousness finds its way to Max to assist her in facing off against the big bad. But as Will states towards the end of episode 9, Vecna is far from defeated.

"Now that I'm back, in Hawkins, I can feel him. And he's hurt, he's hurting, but he's still alive. It's strange knowing now who it was this whole time. But I can still remember what he thinks, and how he thinks. He's not gonna stop, ever, not until he's taken everything... everyone... We have to kill him," Will solemnly tells Mike. 

In an interview with Collider, the showrunners revealed that Will is going to be the "primary focus" of season 5, as the final episodes "circle back to season one."

Matt explained: "We're starting to see his coming of age, really, 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."

"I think you'll see that with a couple of the character arcs, not just with Will," Ross added. "But also with Steve and Nancy, and her relationship with Jonathan, where things are not fully resolved. The characters have maybe made steps, like in the case of Will, but that journey isn't over yet. All of that is going to play a huge role as we try to wrap this thing up next season."

"5 is just going to be pedal to the metal from the opening scene," the latter also told The Wrap, hinting that whatever happens, it's going to be emotional. "I saw executives crying who I’ve never seen cry before and it was wild."

"I can just tell you that I'm very very excited for what's to come. I think they did a great job with Will's character this season, and beautifully addressed everything they needed to," Noah Schnapp, who plays Will, more recently teased to Forbes. "The way they closed the show is just perfect - the story started with Will, and it’ll end with Will."

Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, who is helming an episode of the upcoming final season, suggested that the series won't just end in a big battle: "I don't think Stranger Things falls into a category of television seasons like Game of Thrones where the pilot is cool, slows down, and the last two episodes are the big battle," Trachtenberg continued. "I can tell you, and pointing to other seasons, there is rock and roll throughout the entire season."

As for how it ends. Well, no one knows. Not the cast, anyway. "They're waiting to give us the last episode," Finn Wolfhard told Access Online, "We've read up to the second-to-last episode so we're all on the edge of our seats to find out what the ending is." 

In November 2023, the writers' room shared the setting of the season 5 opener, through a direction on the script that read: "The sound of cold win. Groaning trees, and a child's voice singing a familiar song... Could it be  The Clash's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' that Wil and Jonathan used to sing together often? Or 'Running Up That Hill', perhaps?

After the Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2 ending, there are also plenty of theories floating around about what could happen. We suspect that time travel might factor in in a big way, seeing as the Upside Down was revealed to be stuck in November 1983. One theory even suggests we're heading to 1989 in a mini-time jump. Some viewers have been speculating if Eddie Munson could return as a new villain. Other theories say Max could be the key to Vecna's plan, Dungeons & Dragons may predict who the next big bad will be, or that Eleven's 'lost sister' will help her defeat Vecna at the end of the season.

In an interview with Tudum, the Duffer brothers said that season 5 will have a couple of big reveals early on, that'll affect how the show moves forward. "We were like, 'We know what's going on in the Upside Down, more or less, but we want it to be unknowable. We want it to be mysterious,'" Matt Duffer explained. "But they were like, 'Yeah, but can you write it down?’ And so we wrote it all down."

We're set for an emotional finale though, as promised by star Harbour who recently attended the finale's table read. "We just did a read through of the last episode and the amount of crying... like the episode is very beautiful. But there's also a deeper level of that, this was actually their childhood," he told Comic Book. "They were 11 years old and grew up and fought this monster. And I've never seen so much heavy, heavy weeping from teenagers or young adults in my life."

While the audience learned quite a bit about the Upside Down in Season 4, there’s definitely more to come in Season 5...

Stranger Things season 5 cast

The cast photo to mark the beginning of Stranger Things season 5 filming confirmed that all of the major cast members are back. That means Millie Bobby Brown will be back as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard will reprise his role as Mike Wheeler, and Sadie Sink will be seen again as Max Mayfield.

Other actors almost certainly geared up to show their faces again include Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), and Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers). Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna/Henry Creel/One, is also back too as the show's big bad. 

There are some new cast members too with Linda Hamilton joining. The action icon is perhaps best known for her iconic portrayal as Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, though no other details about her character have been announced.

"I've watched every season with relish. I just love it. So, it's kind of, like, imposter syndrome where I don't [feel that I] fit in there," she previously told US Weekly. "When you really buy into something, you don't see yourself in it. So, I think in a way, it kind of ruined the show for me. I never watch [a project], once I'm in something. It would just completely take me out of the reality of it to see myself in there. So, I won't be watching [season 5]."

Additionally, Netflix posted a montage video of season 5 in production to celebrate 8 years of Stranger Things but in doing so, revealed three new cast members; Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux. Although their roles aren't known just yet.

However, it seems like the four new additions may be the only ones as Matt Duffer has revealed that he and his brother are looking to solely "focus on the OG characters" as they approach the show's endgame. "I just like shaking it up, so we shake it up by changing the plot or adding in a new monster," he told Indiewire. "We're doing our best to resist [adding new characters] for Season 5."

One actor who won't be back is Joseph Quinn, who was introduced as Eddie Munson in season 4. His character was killed by a bunch of Demobats in episode 9 of season 4 – for more, check out our deep dive on everyone who dies in Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2). Shawn Levy told The Hollywood Reporter: "A lot of people can't even handle the thought of a season 5 without some excuse for Eddie presence. [But it's] highly unlikely, highly unlikely. But we hear you, world, we know. You're obsessed with Eddie – so are we."

Another character not returning is Argyle. Eduardo Franco, who plays Jonathan Byers' pizza-delivering stoner buddy in the show, has confirmed he never got a call about reprising the role in season 5.

For more on what to watch, check out our guide to the best Netflix movies.