It's finally happening, Stranger Things season 5 is almost on our screens and bringing the hit Netflix show to an end. In what's sure to be a devastating final chapter, Eleven an co. will face Vecna once again as the terror reigns down on Hawkins, Indiana. We can't wait.
There's no release date just yet, but we do know Stranger Things will arrive in 2025 at some point and we know that filming has concluded. But that's about it, as this is Stranger Things after all and the Duffer brothers are known for keeping their secrets. Luckily for you, we have gathered up all the breadcrumbs dropped about the final season, from casting news to theories, to make sure you're in the know before it returns.
So if you're desperate for all the latest on one of the best shows on Netflix (and one of the best TV shows of all time), you're in the right place. Read on for our complete guide to Stranger Things season 5, covering everything from our speculation over it's release date to what might happen next.
Stranger Things season 5 release date speculation
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 and wrapped up filming at the end of 2024. However, due to lengthy VFX post-production work, which usually takes around several months, don't expect a release date anytime until most likely fall. Especially since it has been revealed that over 650 hours of footage was filmed for the last season, so that is a lot to deal with in the editing room.
The Duffer brothers did also recently share that reaching the 2025 deadline is a bit of a push for them, so we're not expecting to see it until much later in the year.
There are already reports that the new season could be split into two chapters, although that wouldn't be a surprise given that this happened with season 4. Keep your eyes peeled for that potential announcement then...
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.
Most recently, at the 2025 Next of Netflix event the Duffer Brothers further teased more spin-offs, stating that some are "already in the works". Although they wouldn't give any more details or clarification as to what exactly these are, Matt Duffer emphasized that they wouldn't do them for the sake of it, they have to be "awesome" to be given the green light.
As he told the crowd: "It's a bit early at this point to talk about them, but we're deeply involved in every one – it's very important to us that anything with the Stranger Things name on it is of the highest quality and not repetitive – that it has a reason to exist and always blazes its own path. And also, it needs to basically just be... awesome. Or we need to think it's awesome. And there are a lot of what we think are awesome things in the pipeline."
Stranger Things season 5 trailer
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 it 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... 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."
"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."
Although more focus will be given to Will, it looks like something is going on with Eleven thanks to a clue from a poster Netflix shared. The poster shows that Eleven, or Jane Hopper here, is missing, last being seen on 13th June 1986 (which also happens to be a Friday, spooky). With season 5 being set during the fall of 1987, maybe Eleven is still missing during this chapter's events? Is she in hiding for her own safety or has she been taken to the Upside Down?
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."
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 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."
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 guides to the best Netflix movies and the best sci-fi movies on Netflix.
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