Stranger Things spoilers follow.
Stranger Things season five is coming to Netflix, but not anytime soon, giving you time to recover from the events of season four.
To be fair, they totally warned us. But we think it's going to take a while for us to recover.
The stage has now been set for the gang to have one final showdown to save Hawkins and the world. Can they really close the door on the Upside Down for good and learn to live normal lives?
With Stranger Things season five confirmed to be the final season by creators the Duffer Brothers, there is certainly a hell of a lot of ground to cover.
Here's everything you need to know about when you can see the final season on Netflix, and what it will entail. (Major spoilers are ahead for the show to date.)
Stranger Things season 5 potential release date: When is Stranger Things season 5 on Netflix?
Related: Stranger Things full timeline – From Creel House to Eddie Munson manhunt
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.
At the time of season four volume two's release, the team had yet to begin filming the final episodes, and there was one miiighty gap between seasons three and four.
Granted, there was that whole pandemic situation to contend with, but it still took them the best part of three years — with season three dropping in July 2019 and season four not starting until June 2022.
However, with the cast getting older by the day (and still needing to be seen as teenagers despite hitting their 20s and 30s), you can bet the show will want to get into action on the final season sooner rather than later.
Shortly after the release of volume two in July 2022, the Duffers revealed in an interview with Collider that the writers' room phase of pre-production hadn't started yet either, though they had laid out a plan during the course of making season four.
"We're going to take a little vacation in July, 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," Ross Duffer confirmed.
Judging by the official Stranger Things writers' Twitter page, the vacation is over for the Duffer Brothers (or at the very least the show's writing teams), who have confirmed that they're back at work with a sort-of-revealing pic.
The image features a whiteboard with notes jotted in sections. The caption reads: "Grid complete."
"The success of Season 1 freaked us out and then we knew we needed to build up this bigger world, that this was going to be ongoing," said Ross Duffer (via Collider). "That meant prep for season two included filling up a whiteboard with every idea the writers’ room could imagine."
"But it was way too much — [five times] more ideas than we needed, or [ten times]. For season five, we're pulling from a lot of those big season two ideas… A lot of our big ending stuff has pulled from stuff that we thought was going to be in season two."
But those who are spoiler-cautious need not worry: The image is too blurred to be discernible.
It's assumed that this post is referring to the storyboard for season five, which suggests that the bare bones have been fleshed out and fans are closer to a fully-formed story. When that will arrive on the streaming service is, of course, still TBC.
Bearing in mind this and the astronomical amount of post-production involved in creating a season of the hit series, we would hedge our bets that we'll be seeing Stranger Things back at some point in 2024.
This theory has also been backed by actor David Harbour, who suggested the same time frame.
Related: Stranger Things bosses tease season 5 time jump
Matt and Ross Duffer said in a statement announcing the end of the series: "Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last for 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 four will be the penultimate season; season five will be the last.
"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. As always, we are grateful for your patience and support."
When we hear something more concrete, we'll be sure to let you know!
Stranger Things season 5 cast: Who is in Stranger Things season 5?
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's 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's:
• 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)
Related: Stranger Things cast – here's where you've seen them before
Then there's 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, theres are the main adults and parents of the group:
• David Harbour (Jim Hopper)
• Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers)
• Bret Gelman (Murray)
• Tom Wlaschiha (Dmitri)
Related: Stranger Things hoodies, T-shirts, gifts and so much more
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. Spare a moment for the actor who has to spend hours in the make-up chair every time he becomes this terrifying, tentacle-covered uber-villain.
While it's pretty obvious Vecna is truly the epitome of evil (who's even created his own version of Hell to rule over in the Upside Down), actor Jamie has been steadfastly defending his character, even suggesting we could see more of his humanity by the end of Stranger Things.
"I'm certainly able to view him as as a point of conflict. But in terms of, like, is he evil or villainous? I mean, I understand him, and I love him. And I relate to him," he told Variety, later adding: "I understand him, and so I’m always gonna be on his side."
It's also likely that at least a few newcomers will be added next season. And they'll be needed because season four killed off a fair few people, including Eddie Munson, a new fan favourite.
However, there's a fan theory that could bring Eddie back into the fold, despite his hero's death.
Actor Joseph Quinn is up for a return, and has been trying to find a way to resurrect the metalhead to mosh another day. "Me and Joe Keery [who plays Steve Harrington] were discussing ways in which I could kind of [come back]," he told Radio Times.
"Maybe I'd be like a figment of [Dustin's] imagination or something. Like, if there could be some kind of room for something like that, something a bit supernatural."
Mason Dye's character, Jason Carver, could also return, despite being torn in half at the end of the season-four finale when an inter-dimensional tear literally ran straight through him. Through the power of Vecna, this menacing jock might pop back to Hawkins to terrorise the gang once again.
As soon as we know more, we'll tell you.
While there have been no official announcements, there are certainly ideas floating about for new castmates, with David Harbour calling for Euphoria star Jacob Elordi to play a young version of him should an opportunity arise for a flashback — or even a spin-off.
"He could pull off being as handsome as I was at 20," Harbour told GQ Hype.
"At this point, I think Hopper is a character that can exist independent of me. If they wanna go back in time, forward in time... I'd love to see another actor play Hopper, and see what they can bring to it."
Will there be a Stranger Things spin-off?
How Hawkins will survive the devastation of the last seasons is a question that season five will have a big task in answering.
We have no idea what will unravel, and beyond the emotional rollercoaster that's been promised, the Duffers have remained tight-lipped.
However, it's not a stretch to say that these events could spill into the Stranger Things spin-off. Because yes, there have been talks of one — and not just mere wishful convos exchanged via the Twitterverse, either. Actual bonafide tidbits teased by the Duffers themselves.
The brothers revealed that the season five finale was not the end for the Hawkins tale when they confirmed: "There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes."
The creators have been so threadbare with the information they're doling out. Even the existing Stranger Things cast members have been kept in the dark, although there was one who managed to rumble their secret plans.
When speaking to Variety, the brothers admitted that Finn Wolfhard managed to work out the direction of the new show.
"Finn Wolfhard, he wasn't spitballing, he just went, 'I think this would be a cool spin-off,'" Ross said. "And we were, 'How in the world… '"
When speaking to Digital Spy about the likelihood of a spinoff, Wolfhard said: "I think if it was in 10 years or something like that, and there was a movie or a limited series, I think that'd be kind of cool."
Smooth, very smooth.
From the very little we've gleaned, it's possible a Stranger Things spin-off could take place much, much further in the future — though we will say that a prequel would be equally as intriguing.
Stranger Things season 5 plot: What will happen in Stranger Things season 5?
Related: Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown responds to Eleven theory
Expect a tearjerker, folks. According to the Duffers, the Stranger Things season five pitch alone made Netflix executives sob about the show coming to an end.
"We do have an outline for season five and we pitched it to Netflix, and they really responded well to it," Matt Duffer told The Wrap. "I mean, it was hard. It's the end of the story. I saw executives crying who I've never seen cry before and it was wild."
Let's hope that this means the stakes are raised more next time around. Because, sure, a couple of characters did die by the end of season four (and were likely deliberately added in solely to be killed off), but this far in, it's odd that all of the major players are still alive.
Even Max — who did, in fact, die, briefly in season four — ended up making a surprise return at the very end, undermining the power of her supposed death with some cowardly backtracking. As much as we loved Sadie Sink's performance in season four, this kind of decision robs the show of some sorely needed tension.
However, this could pave the way for an even more upsetting story arc for Max going forward.
Judging by what we've seen of her, Max could suffer a fate worse than death — completely forgetting who she is, who her friends are, and her life before her heroic efforts to stop Vecna. It's also likely she could go blind, and will almost certainly have a serious recovery ahead of her, as she broke every bone in her body.
"I'm not sure where we're going and what Max's state is," Sadie told Entertainment Weekly. "It's definitely all up in the air right now."
Although it appears that the actress is just as out of the loop as we are right now, she went on to say that she's looking forward to seeing how Max will be doing when season five arrives.
"I'm just as excited as everyone else to find out where Max is and how she's doing," she added.
This considered, perhaps the writers are just holding back now — ready for full-on carnage by the time this show comes to an end in season five.
"We know that it's happening and that it's the last season, so it's going to be emotional, I’m sure," Sadie said during an interview on NBC’s Today (January 5th, 2023). "Spoiler-free: Just with the way my character ended in season four, I have no idea what is going to happen, but I'll be there."
When asked about working on her final scenes as Max, Sadie shared: "It's going to be awful. It's going to be horrible.
"These kids, this entire cast and crew, it's family. People say that all the time, but I genuinely mean it. And to think that we have to say goodbye to that security and knowing that we’re not going to be seeing each other for another season?"
She added: "But I think it's exciting to kind of move on to the next chapter, I guess."
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast shortly after season four volume two's release, the Duffer Brothers teased first details of the final season, including a promise of episodes being a lot shorter.
"The only reason we don't expect to be as long is, this season [season four], if you look at it, it's almost a two-hour ramp up before our kids really get drawn into a supernatural mystery," said Matt Duffer.
"You get to know them, you get to see them in their lives, they're struggling with adapting to high school and so forth, Steve's trying to find a date, all of that. None of that is obviously going to be occurring [in season five]."
"Characters are already going to be in action, they're already going to have a goal and a drive," Matt added. "And I think that's going to carve out at least a couple of hours and make this season feel really different."
Another long-played-out plot in the story is the ever-present theories that Will Byers is gay and in love with his best friend, Mike. While the team are yet to pull the trigger to come out and say it, an emotional season four scene between Will and Mike seemingly made it clear to viewers that the teen's feelings for his bestie are far from platonic.
This eventually led to an emotional heart-to-heart between Will and his brother, Jonathan, who witnessed the Will-Mike moment in the reflection of their van's rearview mirror. While Jonathan is accepting of Will — and, again, nothing was ever explicitly said — it's clear that Will is terrified of being honest about his feeling, particularly in the heart of 1980s Indiana.
But with the end of the world on its way, can Will find the strength to finally be honest? And how will Mike react to the news, considering he's dating Eleven?
"2023 is the year of Stranger Things for me," Noah Schnapp told Vogue. "We're filming the final season. There's a lot in store for Will. It ties back to where it begins, full circle. I'm excited for fans to see where we wrap his character. I think they'll be really pleased… but also shocked."
At the end of 2022, Noah shared some details on Will's fate in a chat with Forbes, during which he teased a "beautiful" end for his character's journey.
"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," he said.
"The way they closed the show is just perfect. The story started with Will, and it'll end with Will."
One thing we do know is the series finale will more than likely be another two-and-a-half hour spectacular, if the Duffers get their way.
Matt also compared the final season to Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi — not in terms of tone, but in the sense that there will be less ramping up. So basically, it's full steam ahead!
That was kind of a given, though, following volume two's devastating finale. The entire town of Hawkins is basically under siege at this point, and with not just one but two members down, the gang really have their work cut out for them moving forward.
Whatever happens, the Duffers have stated that the final season will bring back some elements from previous seasons in order to give the show one last, epic hurrah.
Ross explained (via Metro): "The way we see it, [season five] is kind of a culmination of all the seasons, so it’s got a little bit from each.
"I think that what we’re trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit, in sort of the tone of [season] one. But also scale-wise, it’s more aligned with what [season] four is. So, hopefully, it’s got a little bit of everything."
Stranger Things season 5 trailer: Any Stranger Things season 5 footage yet?
Apologies, because it's highly unlikely we'll see any new Stranger Things footage anytime soon.
The team is also notoriously private about what's happening, so they'll be keeping everything under lock and key for a while.
For now, you can watch our roundup of other brilliant TV shows that are heading our way in 2023. Just look down and press play.
Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix.
