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Stranger Things season 5

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Stranger Things
Season 5
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Showrunners
Starring
Release
Original networkNetflix
Season chronology
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Season 4
List of episodes

The fifth and final season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 5, will be released on the streaming service Netflix. The season will be produced by the show's creators, the Duffer brothers, along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Isaac Iai, and Seweryn Kogut.

Returning as series regulars are Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, and Jamie Campbell Bower. Amybeth McNulty was promoted to series regular after appearing as a guest in the previous season, while Linda Hamilton joined the main cast in an undisclosed role. The season is set to be released in 2025.

Cast and characters

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Main

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Also starring

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Confirmed

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Episodes

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No.
overall
No. in
season
Title [3]Directed byWritten byOriginal release date [4]
351"Chapter One: The Crawl"TBDThe Duffer Brothers[5]2025 (2025)
362"The Vanishing Of Holly Wheeler"TBDTBD2025 (2025)
373"The Turnbow Trap"TBDTBD2025 (2025)
384"Sorcerer"TBDTBD2025 (2025)
395"Shock Jock"TBDTBD2025 (2025)
406"Escape from Camazotz"TBDTBD2025 (2025)
417"The Bridge"TBDTBD2025 (2025)
428"The Rightside Up"The Duffer Brothers[6]TBD2025 (2025)

Production

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Development

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On February 17, 2022, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer released an expansive letter about Stranger Things that included, amongst other revelations, the fourth season's two-part release schedule, their intention to produce a spinoff series set in the world of the show for Netflix, and the renewal of the series for a fifth and final season.[7] The duo had originally indicated the show was planned to run for a maximum four seasons, but a fifth season run was later teased by producers in 2017.[8]

As with seasons past, planning for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things began before the preceding season's release. However, due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duffers were able to completely outline the fifth season before the fourth had even begun shooting, which was a departure from their usual development cadence. They then revisited their outline and reworked the structure and events of season five based on feedback they received after the release of season four, even going so far as to alter the series' ending.[9] Executive producer Shawn Levy was confirmed to be directing at least one episode in the season by September 2023.[10] Frank Darabont came out of retirement to direct two episodes, having been a huge fan of the series alongside his wife.[11]

Writing

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Writing for the fifth season began on August 2, 2022, about a month after the premiere of season 4 volume 2.[12] On November 6, 2022 (Stranger Things Day), it was announced that the first episode would be titled "Chapter One: The Crawl" and would be written by the Duffers.[13] As noted by the Duffers in the WGFestival 2022, some unused ideas originally conceived for the second season were implemented in the fifth season's storylines. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on the entertainment industry, the Duffers had time to outline the fifth season before even the fourth season could be shot, edited and released, but once the fourth season was released, the Duffers received some feedback from both the fans and collaborators of the show, leading them to re-write some plans for the season, namely the series finale, and pitch them to Netflix, though they noted that most of their original plan stayed unchanged.[9] The writers team described the tone of the season as if "season 1 and 4 had a baby" which was "injected with steroids".[14] On May 6, 2023, the Duffer Brothers announced that writing for season 5 had been paused due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[15] On September 27, the day that the strike ended, the Stranger Things Writers account posted an image stating "We're back",[16] officially confirming that writing had resumed. On the same day, Netflix revealed that they were prioritizing the scripts of the season due to the aging cast.[17] On October 14, 2023, it was revealed that writing was over halfway done.[18]

Casting

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The fifth season features the return of Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, and Jamie Campbell Bower.[19] In June 2023 during Netflix's TUDUM event, it was announced that Linda Hamilton would be joining the cast.[20] Hamilton had contacted the Duffer Brothers on Zoom, providing her with information about the "shape" of her character, but not story.[21] When production began in January 2024, a set photo released by the team confirmed the return of Amybeth McNulty as Vickie.[22] In July 2024, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux joined the cast.[23][24] Amidst filming in mid-October 2024, a casting call was announced by Knight Edge Media for Jim Hopper's late daughter Sara, who was previously portrayed by Elle Graham in the first season, with indications she would similarly feature in flashback sequences with a requirement of the chosen actress to resemble Graham back then.[25]

Filming

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Harbour originally expected to shoot concurrently his scenes as Jim Hopper for the season alongside those of his character Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Thunderbolts* (2025), which was originally planned to be shot at the same time as the season in Atlanta.[26] However, the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes caused both productions to be delayed by the writers' strike.[27] Because of this, the Duffers' initial agreement with Ryder upon joining the show back in mid-2015, that of letting her take a break from the series to reprise her role as Lydia Deetz in a possible Beetlejuice (1988) sequel that Tim Burton had been seriously planning since 2000, did not need to be granted as Ryder shot Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) amid the disputes before filming on the season began.[28] After a significant delay due to the disputes, production of the fifth season began on January 8, 2024.[29] By March 2024, Brown stated that there had been nine months left of filming and that she had then read the script for six episodes.[30] On June 27, Maya Hawke revealed on the "Podcrushed" podcast that the season will consist of "basically eight movies," and that the episodes are "very long".[31] On July 3, Ross Duffer revealed that production was halfway done.[32] In October 2024, Finn Wolfhard stated for People "we're almost done shooting".[33]

Release

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The season is set to be released in 2025.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Stranger Things" Actor: Joe Chrest. (Ted Wheeler). Monday Morning Critic Podcast. February 20, 2024. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Peter Anthony Holder (September 9, 2024). Sherman Augustus - Actor/Renaissance Man. The Stuph File Program. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2024 – via Youtube.
  3. ^ Piña, Christy (November 6, 2024). "'Stranger Things' Season 5 Teaser Reveals Episode Titles, 2025 Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Vary, Adam B. (November 6, 2024). "'Stranger Things 5' Confirms 2025 Release; Final Season Episode Titles Include 'The Rightside Up' For the Finale". Variety. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  5. ^ Stranger Things [@Stranger_Things] (November 6, 2022). "season 5. chapter one. the crawl. happy stranger things day" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ McPherson, Chris (2024). "'Stranger Things' Series Finale — Shawn Levy Shares His "Bittersweet" Reaction [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  7. ^ "'Stranger Things' Renewed For Fifth And Final Season, Gets Premiere Dates For Split Season 4 As Duffer Brothers Tease Potential Spinoffs". Deadline. February 17, 2022. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  8. ^ "Stranger Things will likely go beyond 4 seasons, per producers". Entertainment Weekly. September 28, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "The Duffers Just Shared Something About the 'Big Ending' of 'Stranger Things'". Tudum. November 21, 2022. Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  10. ^ McPherson, Chris (September 11, 2023). "Shawn Levy Confirms He Is Returning to Direct For 'Stranger Things' Season 5". Collider. Archived from the original on September 12, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Sharf, Zack (September 30, 2024). "'Shawshank Redemption' Director Ended Retirement After 11 Years for 'Stranger Things 5' Because 'It Has So Much Heart' When Most 'Content Now Is Filled With Horrible People'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  12. ^ Writers, Stranger (August 2, 2022). "Day 1". Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Tinoco, Armando (November 6, 2022). "'Stranger Things': Title Of Episode 1 From Fifth & Final Season Revealed". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "Stranger Things Writers Use Baby Injected With Steroids in Season 5 Description". ComicBook.com. March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  15. ^ "Writing on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things has been paused". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  16. ^ "Stranger Things writers resume writing on the fifth and final season". Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  17. ^ "Netflix to Prioritize Scripts for Wednesday Season 2 & Stranger Things Final Season". MovieWeb. September 28, 2023. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  18. ^ "'What does a mega episode of "Stranger Things" look like onstage?' Inside 'The First Shadow'". Los Angeles Times. October 14, 2023. Archived from the original on October 22, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  19. ^ West, Amy (August 28, 2023). "Stranger Things season 5: All we know so far about the Netflix show's final chapter". Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  20. ^ Rosenbloom, Alli (June 18, 2023). "'Terminator' star Linda Hamilton joins cast of 'Stranger Things' for final season". CNN. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  21. ^ Grebenyuk, Yana (February 15, 2024). "Why 'Stranger Things' Gave Linda Hamilton 'Imposter Syndrome'". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (January 8, 2024). "Stranger Things Season 5 Officially Begins Production, Cast Photo Revealed". Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  23. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 15, 2024). "'Stranger Things 5': Nell Fisher, Alex Breaux & Jake Connelly Join Cast; BTS Video Marks Final Season Filming Midpoint". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  24. ^ Vary, Adam B. (July 15, 2024). "'Stranger Things' Season 5 First Look: Nostalgic, Slimy Behind-the-Scenes Footage Reveals New Cast Members". Variety. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  25. ^ Williams, Caleb (October 15, 2024). "Casting Call Goes Out For Hopper's Daughter in Netflix's 'Stranger Things' Season 5". Knight Edge Media. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Coley, Samantha (November 15, 2022). "David Harbour Says He'll Be Filming 'Stranger Things' 5 and 'Thunderbolts' at the Same Time [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 6, 2023). "'Stranger Things' Final Season Production Delayed by Labor Unrest". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  28. ^ Sharf, Zack (July 17, 2024). "Winona Ryder's 'One Condition' for Joining 'Stranger Things' Was a Filming Break If 'Beetlejuice 2' Ever Happened: 'They Agreed. Luckily, It Worked Out'". Variety. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  29. ^ Petski, Denise (January 8, 2024). "'Stranger Things' Is Officially In Production On Season 5 — First Photo". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  30. ^ Flook, Ray (March 9, 2024). "Stranger Things 5 Has 9 Months of Filming Left: Millie Bobby Brown". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  31. ^ Stedman, Alex (July 2, 2024). "Stranger Things Season 5 Will Be 'Basically, Eight Movies,' Says Maya Hawke". IGN Southeast Asia. Archived from the original on July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  32. ^ Gomez, Dessi (July 3, 2024). "'Stranger Things' Season 5 Production Reaches 'Happy Halfway' Mark, 24 Weeks Down". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  33. ^ Rice, Nicholas (October 13, 2024). "Finn Wolfhard Reveals the 'Very Meaningful' Props He'd Love to Take from the Stranger Things Set (Exclusive)". People. Archived from the original on October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.