Stranger Things season 5 is officially in production and The Duffer Brothers have been hard at work writing the new series. The latest from the writers’ room was a very blurry look at the entire plot for the season – but before you get too excited, it seems even the biggest internet sleuths are struggling to work out what it says.
Elsewhere, Netflix was pretty quiet about Stranger Things season 5 at its annual Tudum event. We didn’t get any news from inside the production aside from some fun bloopers from the latest season. But we do know one bit of casting news, however – and it might be a disappointment for fans. Despite the love for Eddie Munson, it seems like Joseph Quinn won’t be reprising the role in the final season.
Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is the boy who started it all. In Season 1 of Stranger Things, set in 1983, Will is the first person from Hawkins, Indiana to go missing in the Upside Down. In the time since then, Will hasn’t had the easiest childhood. From being trapped in the underworld to being possessed by its master, it’s safe to say that Will’s actually had a pretty rough go of it. Add on the very real-world circumstances of being “different” in a time and place where it could get you killed, and it’s abundantly clear why Will has felt very isolated over the past three seasons leading up to Season 4.
The Duffer Brothers have confirmed very few things about Stranger Things’ much anticipated final season. They have said that it will take place after a time jump and that Will Byers(Noah Schnapp)will be a huge player in the final season. Using this information and hints from season 4, fans have plenty of fascinating theories regarding what’s going down in the fifth season.
Stranger Things season 5 potential release date
So, we have some good news and some bad news – we know that Stranger Things season five is on its way, but we just don’t know exactly when that will be.
Season 5 hasn’t even started filming, so let’s not get too excited just yet about the show’s finale.
If we were having a guess, late 2023 feels quite ambitious, but there’s a small chance of making that if filming starts soon. It’s more likely that we will see the show return in 2024 for its final run.
David Harbour agrees with our guess. The Hopper actor told GQ: “I think we’ll [shoot] next year. 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.”
The writing team updated fans on their progress with a picture of the season 5 storyboard – however, they blurred the image to avoid any spoilers leaking.
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!”
Season 5 cast
As you know by now, not everyone made it out of season four alive – as much as we wanted them to stick around.
But looking forward to season five, there is still an absolutely jam-packed list of major characters to keep track of in the upcoming season, with all the actors involved more than likely to return.
In the kids’ group, there are:
• Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven)
• Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler)
• Noah Schnapp (Will Byers)
• Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair)
• Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson)
• Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield)
• Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair)
Then there’s the Stranger Things own version of a babysitters’ club, with the elders of the group being:
• Joe Keery (Steve Harrington)
• Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley)
• Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler)
• Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers)
• Eduardo Franco (Argyle)
Finally, there are the main adults and parents of the group:
• David Harbour (Jim Hopper)
• Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers)
• Bret Gelman (Murray)
• Tom Wlaschiha (Dmitri)
While these are enough to keep track of alone, they are just the good guys! Some of the villains (or those of questionable morals at least) are probably bound to make a return as well.
Obviously above everyone and everything else is Jamie Campbell-Bower as Henry/001/Vecna. So spare a moment for the actor who has to spend hours in the make-up chair every time he becomes this terrifying, tentacle-cover uber villain.
Stranger Things season 5 plot
Is anyone else still reeling from the Stranger Things 4 finale? Same.
Spoiler Alerts…
In the explosive final two episodes, Hopper, Joyce, and Murray escape the Soviet prison. But after learning that the rest of the Hawkins crew are tackling yet another monster from the Upside Down, they double back to destroy the Russians’ stockpile of demogorgons to weaken the hive mind. After Eleven escapes the lab and the U.S. military — and Dr. Brenner, for good (it seems) — she, Mike, Will, Jonathan, and Argyle head to a Nevada-based Surfer Boy Pizza to replicate a sensory deprivation tank so she can reach Max. She comes face-to-face with Vecna once again, but Max dies in Lucas’s arms. El, realizing her power, brings Max back to life, but she remains in a coma.
As Eleven tries to save Max through a “piggyback” of her mind, Dustin and Eddie enter the Upside Down to lure the demo bats away from the Creel House. The efforts turn fatal for Eddie who dies from their attacks. Meanwhile, Robin, Steve, and Nancy use their weapons and flamethrowers to kill Vecna. But the fourth gate has been opened after Vecna’s fourth kill (Max), and the entirety of Hawkins cracks along giant fault lines, creating a colossal opening to the Upside Down. In the final scene, the entire crew is reunited in Hawkins, but Will reveals that Vecna is not dead and soon feels the Mind Flayer present — just as snow-like particles begin falling from the sky.
Sooooooo, a lot is happening! While we don’t know much of what might go down, we can bet that season 5 will mostly focus on saving Hawkins.
“Our ambitions remain pretty high, and the way the audience has grown along with the cinematic scope of the show, I don’t expect that we’re going to mess with that approach going into season five,” Levy continued.
Earlier this year, the Duffer Brothers hinted at one major plot detail. In a June interview with TVLine, they revealed that Hawkins High’s students will be a little older. “I’m sure we will do a time jump,” Ross said. OK, Woah.
