Stranger Things season 5: everything we know so far about the hugely popular Netflix show's return

Happy Stranger Things season 5 release year, everyone! The incredible popular Netflix series if officially set to arrive sometime this year and, while I'm ridiculously excited for the show's return, it'll be a bittersweet moment as the main story will end with this fifth and final entry.

Before more details about Stranger Things' last hurrah are announced, you'll want to learn more ahead of its debut on the world's best streaming service. In this guide, I've rounded up the most important information on one of the best Netflix shows' last season, including its confirmed cast, story details, the sci-fi horror franchise's future, and more.

Full spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 4. Potential season 5 spoilers are also discussed, so proceed with caution if you're avoiding them ahead of release.

Stranger Things season 5 release date prediction

It doesn't have an official launch date yet, but Netflix confirmed Stranger Things season 5 will debut sometime in 2025. That's a relief, too, as we were worried that Stranger Things 5 wouldn't arrive until 2026.

Principal photography began last January, but that that season 5 filming start date all but confirmed it won't be released in 2024. In December 2024, Netflix confirmed principal photography on Stranger Things 5 had wrapped, which understandably proved to be a highly emotional moment for many of its cast and crew.

So, when do think Stranger Things season 5 will be released? My initial thoughts are that it'll air in time for this year's Stranger Things Day, which would mean a November 6, 2025 launch. That date falls on a Thursday this year and, given Netflix has released plenty of Movie and TV Originals on Thursdays over the last few years, it isn't an outlandish guess to make.

Hopefully, I'll learn more details about its release window (at the very least) at the UK event of Next on Netflix, which takes place in late January. I'll report back as soon as I know more.

Stranger Things season 5 trailer: is there one?

No. However, Netflix released a behind-the-scenes featurette to celebrate reaching the halfway mark of its monstrous shooting schedule in mid-2024. The video represented our first proper look at Stranger Things season 5 – one that reveals new characters, fan-favorite team-ups, and a possible time jump.

In terms of a real teaser, I wouldn't expect one to debut until a) closer to launch or b) the next edition of Netflix Tudum, which may be held in mid-2025, is upon us.

Stranger Things season 5 cast: confirmed and rumored

Major spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 4.

Netflix hasn't officially announced who'll be part of Stranger Things season 5's cast. But, based on the behind-the-scenes video and images, plus new cast announcements, that have been released, these actors are set to appear:

• Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
• Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers
• David Harbour as Jim Hopper
• Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler
• Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson
• Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair
• Noah Schnapp as Will Byers
• Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield
• Joe Keery as Steve Harrington
• Natalie Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
• Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers
• Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley
• Jamie Campbell-Bower as Vecna
• Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman
• Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair
• Linda Hamilton as TBC
• Nell Fisher as TBC
• Alex Breaux as TBC
• Jake Connelly as TBC

Outside of those returning from season 4, the biggest casting news is that Terminator star Linda Hamilton has joined the Stranger Things 5 ranks.

She isn't the only cast addition. As revealed in July's behind-the-scenes teaser and confirmed by a Netflix press release, Fisher (Evil Dead Rise), Breaux (Waco: The Aftermath), and up-and-comer Connelly are also part of proceedings.

As for other returning characters who might show up, Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) is definitely back (thanks to Reddit for the catch). We believe Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest), Lieutenant Colonel Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus), Vickie (Amybeth McNulty), and Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) will return, too. Doctor Sam Owens' (Paul Reiser) fate is unknown after he was left handcuffed to a pipe in the subterranean Nina Project in season 4, but we'd be surprised if he isn't back.

Concerning the series' primary villain Vecna, he'll be back as well. Indeed, leaked images confirm Campbell-Bower was seen filming scenes, albeit as Vecna's original human self Henry Creel (see the Stranger Things Spoilers X/Twitter fan account post above) last year.

On the no-shows front, Eduardo Franco has confirmed (per IGN) he didn't receive the call to reprise his role as fan-favorite season 4 character Argyle. Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson won't be back, either, following his death in last season's finale. Other season 4 caracters in Dmitri Antonov (Tom Wlaschiha) and Yuri Ismaylov (Nikola Duricko) are unlikely to appear as well.

Stranger Things season 5 plot rumors

Full spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 4. Potential season 5 spoilers are also discussed.

We don't know anything official about Stranger Things 5's plot – well, apart from the fact it won't end with an "it was all a dream/fantasy" scenario, as confirmed by the Duffers (per Metro UK). What we do know is Stranger Things season 5 will test our runtime limits, with Maya Hawke revealing that "basically, eight movies" have been filmed.

We also know what this season's episode titles are. The season 5 premiere title, aka 'The Crawl', was unveiled in mid-2022 – here are four big theories on what Stranger Things 5's first episode title could mean – with the others unveiled last November.

• Episode 1 – The Crawl
• Episode 2 – The Vanishing Of [Redacted]
• Episode 3 – The Turnbow Trap
• Episode 4 – Sorcerer
• Episode 5 – Shock Jock
• Episode 6 – Escape From Camazotz
• Episode 7 – The Bridge
• Episode 8 – The Rightside Up

Speaking on Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 unlocked episode in July 2022, the Duffer brothers hinted at some story-based elements without giving anything significant away, too.

"It's going to be unlike any other season," Matt Duffer suggested. "We're starting season 5 and things are already going."

"Our characters are going after Vecna from minute one," Ross Duffer added. "We have a lot to do, in terms of a few more revelations, and also we need to make sure we give our characters time to make these final arcs."

Interestingly, the Duffers confirmed they've rewritten parts of season 5 (per Netflix Tudum) based on fan feedback, which slightly alters the series' ending. On X/Twitter, the Stranger Things writing team suggested it's "like if season 1 and season 4 had a baby. And then that baby was injected with steroids."

Before the end credits roll for the final time, our heroes must join forces to try to stop Vecna – the show's primary antagonist – for good.

In the season 4 finale, Vecna was severely injured by Nancy, Steve, and Robin at Creel House. However, when they go looking for Vecna's body, it's gone, so the series' main villain appears to crawled away to recover.

He was technically victorious in season 4, though. Max, his final victim, died for a whole minute following his attack, which caused four gates to the Upside Down to open in the center of Hawkins, thereby allowing it to start merging with the real world. Vecna, then, will want to finish what he started – i.e. destroying everything that our heroes hold dear.

To put a stop to his world-ending plan, the show's main characters are already assembled in Hawkins so, while they might break into smaller groups to cover as much ground as possible, they're still effectively working together. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Duffer said that was an intentional creative decision heading into season 5, adding: "We want to go back to a lot things we did in season 1 and a lot of the original groupings and pairings that we had."

But back to Max. She's in a medically-induced coma following her near-fatal encounter with Vecna in the Stranger Things season 4 finale. When Eleven went searching for Max's consciousness/soul/whatever you want to call it in the Void in said finale, however, she couldn't find her, so nobody knows if Max will ever wake up.

Sink has since confirmed she's as much in the dark as fans are about Max's fate, but you can read our thoughts on how Max's story could go one of two ways in Stranger Things season 5. In new images posted from the season 5 set (see the below Instagram post's third photograph), Ross Duffer teased Lucas will try to coax Max out of her unconscious state using music – and, in particular, her love to Kate Bush.

Meanwhile, Noah Schnapp, who plays The Upside Down's most notable victim in Will Byers, dropped a big hint to Vogue about his season 5 character arc, saying: "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."

Schnapp also told US magazine that Will is the "center point" of Stranger Things 5, before revealing (via Forbes) that the whole show "end with Will". Based on the below 'Chapter 1, Scene 1' X/Twitter post, it could begin with a flashback showing us a de-aged Will or, as seen in a video from Schnapp (post on Ross Duffer's X/Twitter account) showed, a present day Will revisiting Castle Byers, aka his self-erected childhood hideout.

Ross Duffer corroborated Schnapp's comments in conversation with Variety, adding: "Will really takes center stage again. This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality – it’s Will coming into his own as a young man."

As for potential character deaths, we think Eleven and Mike will survive. That's in spite of Wolfhard saying he'd be open to Mike dying under one condition (via GQ). Hopper, Joyce, and Will have all been through a lot as well, so we suspect they'll make it out alive. Everyone else, though, is fair game as far as we're concerned. Stranger Things season 5 is going to be the deadliest yet, which implies some main characters will bite the dust.

Brown claims she doesn't actually want Eleven to die, despite initially joking that she'd like it to happen, while Hawke told NME she'd "love to die and get my hero’s moment". Natalie Dyer hopes Nancy will live to tell the tale, though (via Cosmopolitan).

Teasing what else fans can expect, Matt Duffer told TVLine that season 5 will likely feature a time jump. The final few episodes will, as he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast, be like Lord of the Rings in its makeup, too.

"It [the season 5 finale] is going to be Return of the King-ish with eight endings," he said. "If you just watch Return of the King, it feels like too many endings. [But] if you watch all of them back-to-back, which I’ve done multiple times, it’s exactly right. If it were any shorter, it would feel cheap and wrong."

As for other subplots that need resolving, Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan is surely still tracking Eleven, believing she's responsible for the deaths in and around Hawkins. We should find out why the Upside Down is seemingly stuck in 1984 as well. We still don't have all the answers about what this realm actually is (outside of snippets revealed in prequel stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow), why it's spookier and more dingy than the realm Henry Creel first traveled to, or what The Mind Flayer is exactly. Ross Duffer (per Stranger Things season 4 volume 2's unlocked episode) claims those queries will be answered.

Then there's the loose end concerning number eight – aka Kali Prasad. We haven't seen Kali since season 2 and, unlike every other test subject under Doctor Brenner's supervision (who had telekinetic abilities), she had different powers. Why was she the odd one out? And will we see her again? It's possible Stranger Things season 5 won't answer these questions. After all, the Duffers have retconned some early season plot points in later instalments (via Variety). Maybe Kali's story is just one of those lingering mysteries we'll never get closure on.

And what of the show's official ending? Understandably, we have no idea how it'll wrap up, but Matarazzo told NME that fans can prepare to see a "satisfying" and "cathartic" final chapter. Oh, and David Harbour told THR that the series' last-ever episode is "the best episode they [the Duffers] have done" before teasing how tear-jerking it is. Have a box of tissues at the ready, everyone!

The future of Stranger Things

Stranger Things: The First Shadow | Meet Henry Creel | Netflix - YouTube

Watch On

Season 5 of Stranger Things will bring the curtain down on the show's main story – and, in our opinion, David Harbour is right – it's time for Stranger Things to end.

There are other projects in the works at Upside Down Pictures, the Duffers' production company, though. The studio will develop movies and TV shows exclusively for Netflix, including two Stranger Things spin-offs – one of which is confirmed to be an animated series (per Variety).

The first spin-off to arrive was a prequel stage play titled Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which began its London West End residency in December 2023 and will play at The Phoenix Theater until February 16. Netflix has also confirmed it'll begin its Broadway run shortly, with performances beginning on March 28 before officially opening to the public on April 22.

Set in 1959, The First Shadow tells the tale of the Creel Family's arrival in Hawkins, and shows us Jim Hopper, Henry Creel, and other notable characters in their teens. As good as that sounds, we think this spin-off of Stranger Things season 5 will hit the big Marvel and Star Wars problem. Based on a huge plot point it'll contain, The First Shadow's big lore reveal will need addressing in season 5 for anyone who doesn't get the chance to watch the play, too.

For more Stranger Things coverage, check out these five shows that you should watch while we wait for season 5's arrival and then read our thoughts on five Stranger Things spin-off ideas that could work.