strangerthings

Stranger Things 5, the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, was officially announced on February 17, 2022.[1] The season was released in three parts, with Vol. 1 on November 26, 2025, Vol. 2 on December 25, 2025 and the series finale on December 31, 2025.[2][3] It consists of eight episodes, ranging from fifty-seven to one hundred twenty-eight minutes in length.

The fifth season takes place in November 1987, 19 months after the "Earthquake". The season centers around the Party as they search for Vecna and devise a plan to stop him from destroying the world, all while evading the town’s military quarantine. When Holly Wheeler mysteriously vanishes, they soon realize her disappearance is part of a much larger scheme.

The season introduces Wolf Pack leader and military scientist Dr. Kay, along with her subordinates Lieutenant Robert Akers and Sergeant Luis Ramirez, as well as Holly’s classmates and friends Mary, Debbie Miller, and Joshua Gunn, and bully Derek Turnbow. Additionally, Holly Wheeler herself is promoted to the main cast. This season notably marks the return of Kali Prasad who has a much larger role than previously.

Synopsis

The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will's disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before. To end this nightmare, they'll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.[2]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Also Starring

Recurring cast

Episodes

Main article: Episode Guide
# Image Title Director Writers
Volume 1
35
501 Netflix Thumbnail
"The Crawl" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers
November, 1987. The gang evades the military to scour the Upside Down for Vecna - but fails to notice a threat lurking closer to home.
36
502 Netflix Thumbnail
"The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers
After a vicious attack at the Wheeler home, Mike and Nancy confront the cost of secrecy, while El and Hopper embark on a rescue mission.
37
503 Netflix Thumbnail
"The Turnbow Trap" Frank Darabont Caitlin Schneiderhan
Will gains unique insight into Vecna's next move, giving the crew an opportunity to set a trap. Holly explores her new surroundings.
38
504 Netflix Thumbnail
"Sorcerer" The Duffer Brothers Paul Dichter
The military tightens its grip on the town. Mike, Lucas and Robin orchestrate a daring escape. El comes face-to-face with the enemy.
Volume 2
39
505 Netflix Thumbnail
"Shock Jock" Frank Darabont Curtis Gwinn
The gang hatches an electrifying plan to reconnect Will to the hive mind. Tensions flare during a search of the Upside Down's Hawkins Lab.
40
506 Netflix Thumbnail
"Escape from Camazotz" Shawn Levy Kate Trefry
As Holly and Max fight to escape Vecna's mind, El must find a way into Will's. Joyce wrestles with guilt. Jonathan and Nancy face a turning point.
41
507 Netflix Thumbnail
"The Bridge" The Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy The Duffer Brothers
On the anniversary of Will's disappearance, the party reunites to prepare for a battle with world-altering implications.
Finale
42
508 Netflix Thumbnail
"The Rightside Up" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers
As Vecna prepares to destroy the world as we know it, the party must put everything on the line to defeat him once and for all.

Development

As far back as September 2017, the Duffer Brothers and executive producer Shawn Levy had decided Stranger Things would "definitely" last four seasons, and would possibly extend to a fifth.[4]

Stranger Things 5 Announcement

Following the announcement of Season 4's release dates, the Duffer Brothers confirmed Stranger Things would get a fifth and final season.[1] On May 19, 2022, the Duffers revealed that Season 4 hints towards big events from Season 5, and suggested there would be a greater time jump between the two seasons. In addition, they described how the six-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic gave the writers' room additional time to complete scripts compared to previous seasons, which in turn freed them up to outline all of Season 5.[5]

"Day 1"

"Day 1"

Later, on July 5, 2022, the Duffers said they were to start writing the scripts in earnest in the first week of August.[6] They also affirmed that the season's storylines will mostly take place in Hawkins and the Upside Down, in contrast to Season 4. The Duffers also planned to bring the story "full circle" by re-exploring some of the original groups and character pairings from Season 1, but on a grander scale. They expected the finale to be a similar length to the Season 4 finale; they planned to give all the characters a proper send-off, similar to "Return of the King-ish with eight endings."[7] Furthermore, the Duffers have said Season 5 will delve into various lingering mysteries. These mysteries include the government program at Hawkins Lab and "what happened to [it] once Henry became involved", saying the final season will expand upon how Dr. Brenner "evolved it" into including multiple kids. In addition, the Upside Down being seemingly "frozen" on the date November 6, 1983 will come into focus as a major plot point.[8] On August 2, 2022, @strangerwriters announced writing for Season 5 had officially begun.[9] On August 25, the account posted a photo indicating that the season will consist of eight episodes, re-iterating what the Duffers had already suggested in interviews.[10] On September 20, the account posted a photo of the then-completed grid for the 8 episodes, but with the words blurred to conceal spoilers.[11]

The first episode title was revealed to be "The Crawl" on November 6, 2022, as part of Stranger Things Day. According to the Duffer Brothers, the second episode was being written throughout early November of 2022, with The Crawl being completed two weeks prior.[12] Shawn Levy has teased the final season to be on a blockbuster movie scale.[13]

Casting

As part of Netflix's TUDUM on June 17, 2023, it was announced that Linda Hamilton had joined the cast.[14] On July 15, 2024, it was announced that Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux had joined the cast.[15] Much later, on May 31, 2025, their characters were announced; Fisher as Holly Wheeler, Connelly as Derek Turnbow and Breaux as Lieutenant Akers.[2][16]

Production

Filming

On October 8, 2022, David Harbour revealed filming was set to begin in summer 2023.[17][18] Later, Noah Schnapp revealed principal photography would begin in May 2023.[19] However, David Harbour later informed fans during Middle East Comic Con that filming would commence one month later, in June.[17] Another source suggested filming was set to begin on May 15, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.[20] In an interview released on February 1, 2023, Finn Wolfhard suggested Stranger Things 5 might release in 2025.[21] On February 17, Schnapp revealed via TikTok that he had received the first three scripts. On May 6, 2023, it was reported that production of the final season had been delayed due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, as the strike prevented writers from doing further rewrites, or discussing scripts with cast and crew while filming.[22] The SAG-AFTRA actors strike, carried out simultaneously and in solidarity with the WGA, also caused delays to Season 5's production.[23] On June 28, Netflix announced Dan Trachtenberg would direct an episode through a press release, with @strangerwriters clarifying that his episode wouldn't be "The Crawl".[24] However, due to complications caused by the writers strike and commitments to other projects such as Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg was ultimately unable to work on Stranger Things, with another director stepping in to helm the episode.[25][26]

On September 11, Shawn Levy had been announced to direct an episode in the final season.[27] On September 27, the writers strike ended, with @strangerwriters announcing their return shortly after.[28][29]

On September 28 and 29, @strangerwriters shared previsualization snippets of Steve and Jonathan. On October 20, the account posted another pre-vis snippet featuring Jonathan, Nancy and Dustin in a vehicle. The account joked that, if the SAG-AFTRA strike didn't yield a fair deal for the actors, the crew would be forced to replace actors with their pre-vis counterparts.[30][31][32] A deal was finally struck between the actors guild and the studios on November 8, clearing the way for filming to begin on Season 5.[33] From around October 30 to November 2, the Duffers were "shot-listing" the first two episodes.[34] On November 21, @strangerwriters posted a video of all the costumes the characters will be wearing in season five while revealing the table reading for the scripts would happen before the end of 2023.[35] On December 8, Deadline reported that production for the fifth season will resume in January 2024.[36] On December 19, it was reported that Frank Darabont was in talks to direct two episodes, which was later confirmed.[37][38]

On January 5, 2024, filming for the fifth season reportedly began.[39] On January 8, the Stranger Things social media accounts revealed that production on Season 5 had officially begun. This included a picture of the main cast, which notably confirmed the return of Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield while hinting Amybeth McNulty's Vickie might have a larger role.[40] On January 9, the Stranger Things social media accounts posted several new behind the scenes photos. One photo of Joe Keery and Maya Hawke included a clapperboard, with the timestamp suggesting about 25 minutes of "The Crawl" had already been filmed. Information featured on the clapperboard also confirmed that the Duffers would serve as the directors of this episode, as with the first episodes of all prior seasons.[41] On January 11, Ross Duffer and the Stranger Things social media accounts posted a behind-the-scenes photo of Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, notably wearing a torn Hellfire Club shirt with longer hair.[42] On January 19, Ross Duffer posted further on-set pictures and videos to Instagram. The first picture included Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, with shorter hair than the previous season. Another picture in the slideshow revealed Finn Wolfhard walking in a field alongside Millie Bobby Brown.[43] In a video posted by the Stranger Things Instagram account on January 24, Cara Buono said she was preparing to film a scene from the second episode, also mentioning that it was her first day back on set.[44]

On February 2, further behind-the-scenes photos were posted by Ross Duffer, including Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven.[45] On February 9, a video of Amybeth McNulty as Vickie was posted to the "Stranger Things 5- In Production" channel on Instagram. A few on-set photographs taken by McNulty were also posted, highlighting the return of Hawkins Memorial Hospital. One photograph featured Maya Hawke in costume as Robin Buckley.[46][47][48] On February 16, Ross Duffer posted further on-set pictures to Instagram, this time showing Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler and Matt Duffer.[49] On March 1, Ross Duffer posted more pictures to Instagram, showing Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield and Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair with longer hair.[50] On March 12, filming on the fourth episode began.[51] On March 15, Ross Duffer posted another group of photos from weeks 9-10 which showed David Harbour as Jim Hopper sporting notably longer hair and a longer beard.[52] On March 22, Ross Duffer posted two photos of Noah Schnapp as Will Byers to Instagram, with one photo showing Noah alongside an unnamed child actor seemingly portraying a younger Will. The actors appeared to be recreating the scene inside Castle Byers at the very end of "The Bathtub", in which Will was attacked by the Demogorgon.[53]

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on April 12, Linda Hamilton revealed that the "Volume" virtual set technology was being used for filming Season 5.[54] On an episode of the Standard Issue Podcast released April 28, Kate Trefry confirmed that Frank Darabont was directing episode three (and was separately confirmed to be directing one other episode). This marks a change from prior seasons, in which Shawn Levy would usually direct episodes three and four; Levy was unable to do so for season five due to his commitment to finishing Deadpool & Wolverine, now only directing a single episode.[55][38] Despite this, it was eventually revealed that the Duffer Brothers and Shawn Levy had co-directed "The Bridge", suggesting there was a change in plan.

On May 17, Ross posted more behind-the-scenes photos from week 15-19 of filming, including Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers with shorter hair, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington and Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley.[56] On July 3, Ross announced that the filming of season 5 is halfway done.[57] On July 15, the Stranger Things social media accounts posted a BTS video of season 5, including several of the characters in the show and also some clips from the season.[58] In an interview released on July 19, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos revealed that Stranger Things 5 is currently slated to release in 2025.[59]

On September 12, Gaten Matarazzo revealed that the cast did a script read-through for the final episode on his birthday, September 8.[60][61] In an interview released on October 13, Finn Wolfhard said that filming for the fifth season is almost complete.[62] On December 17, it was reported that production on the season was complete.[63] Three days later on December 20, it was officially confirmed & announced by Stranger Things social media accounts that filming had wrapped up.[64]

Music

Main article: Music

to be added

Marketing

Trailers

For November 6, 2024 (Stranger Things Day 2024), an official "Title Tease" for Season 5 was released, as done with all prior seasons starting with Stranger Things 2. Like other Title Teases, the teaser adopted the format of the title sequence and revealed all upcoming episode titles besides "The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler", which was only partially revealed as "The Vanishing of...". The teaser also revealed that Season 5 takes place in the fall of 1987.[65]

As part of Netflix's TUDUM 2025 event on May 31, 2025, a "Date Announcement" trailer was released revealing the release dates for Vol 1, Vol 2 and the final episode.[2]

The first teaser trailer was released on July 16, 2025, on the 9th anniversary of Stranger Things.[66] The official trailer was released on October 30, 2025.

The final trailer for Vol. 1 was released on November 23, 2025.[67]

The trailer for Vol. 2 was released on December 15, 2025.[68]

The trailer for the series finale was released on December 30, 2025.[69]

Images

On January 30, 2025, the Stranger Things official social media accounts posted a "missing teen" poster in regards to Eleven, which also reveals her birthday and age.[70]

Tie-Ins

The Frito-Lay company began a promotion featuring "Stranger Pizza and Cool Ranch Doritos Collisions" as a flavor, and a phone number, 1-855-4HAWKINS, which will start functioning as a teaser for an in-universe telethon for Hawkins, on September 30, 2025.

Stranger Saturdays

As part of the online marketing campaign for Stranger Things 5, the show's official social media accounts and Netflix Tudum website hosted "Stranger Saturdays" where fans were encouraged to rewatch the previous four seasons with the cast, similar to the promotions for Seasons 2 and 3. Fans would vote for their favorite episode from each of the first four seasons, and over four week of Saturdays, the Tudum website streamed live rewatch the most-voted episode from each season. The events included polls, trivia, and the cast reacting to clips from earlier seasons. The most voted episodes from each of four previous seasons that were streamed live; "The Vanishing of Will Byers", "Will the Wise", "The Sauna Test", and "The Piggyback".[71]

Home media

On March 19, 2026, Arrow announced that the complete Stranger Things series would be released on Blu-ray and will also be released on 4k in July in 2026 which contains the first and fifth seasons, It was also announced that it was also being released in the UK.[72]

Gallery

Character posters
Promotional posters

Trivia

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Stranger Things 5 officially announced with Season 4 release dates"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "The Stranger Things 5 Release Date Has Been Revealed" The Netflix 'Tudum' website. May 31, 2025.
  3. "'Stranger Things': Netflix Reveals Premiere Date For Season 5, Split Into Three Volumes" Deadline. May 31, 2025.
  4. "Stranger Things will likely go beyond 4 seasons, per producers" Entertainment Weekly. September 8, 2017.
  5. "Stranger Things Season 5: Duffer Brothers Have Outlined All the Scripts" The Collider Interviews YouTube channel. May 19, 2022.
  6. "Here's When 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Starts Being Written" Collider. July 5, 2022.
  7. "Matt & Ross Duffer - Happy Sad Confused" Happy Sad Confused.
  8. "'Stranger Things' Matt & Ross Duffer Dish Season 4 Finale Death & Destruction & Epic Battles Ahead"
  9. "Stranger Things Writers' Twitter Post". August 2, 2022.
  10. Stranger Things Grid Stage, Season 5 (@strangerwriters)
  11. "Grid complete" (@strangerwriters)
  12. "According to the Duffer Brothers, the second episode of #StrangerThings5 is currently being written, while the first episode was completed two weeks ago." Twitter. November 14 2022.
  13. Shawn Levy says the final season will be on a blockbuster movie scale
  14. "'Stranger Things' Season 5 Adds Linda Hamilton to Cast". Variety. June 17, 2023.
  15. https://deadline.com/2024/07/stranger-things-season-5-nell-fisher-alex-breaux-jake-connelly-cast-bts-video-1236010110/
  16. "'Stranger Things 5' Adds 3 To Cast, Reveals First Look At Final Season With Behind The Scenes Video" Deadline. July 15, 2024.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Stranger Things 5 Star David Harbour Confirms June Filming Start
  18. David Harbour Imagines Hopper's Happiest Stranger Things 5 Ending
  19. "Stranger Things season 5: Release date speculation, cast predictions and latest news" Radio Times. January 31, 2023.
  20. "Stranger Things (Season 5)" FTIA.
  21. "Finn Wolfhard Replies to More Fans on the Internet" The GQ YouTube channel. February 1, 2023.
  22. "'Stranger Things' Final Season Production Pushed Due To Writers Strike; Duffer Bros Hope "Fair Deal Is Reached Soon"" Deadline. May 6, 2023.
  23. "SAG-AFTRA Strike Photos: Actors & Performing Artists On The Picket Line" Deadline. October 25, 2023.
  24. "Dan Trachtenberg Will Direct an Episode of Stranger Things 5" Netflix's 'Tudum' site. June 28, 2023.
  25. "Predator: Badlands" kept Dan Trachtenberg from directing Stranger Things episode JoBlo.com. November 5, 2025.
  26. "Not The Crawl" Twitter. June 28, 2023.
  27. "Shawn Levy Confirms He Is Returning to Direct For 'Stranger Things' Season 5" Collider. September 11, 2023.
  28. WGA West on Twitter
  29. "We're back" (@strangerwriters)
  30. Tweet made on September 28, 2023
  31. Tweet made on September 29, 2023
  32. Tweet made on October 20, 2023
  33. "SAG-AFTRA Approves Deal to End Historic Strike" Variety. November 8, 2023.
  34. "the first two episodes of season 5 shotlisting is complete!!!!" Twitter. November 2, 2023.
  35. Tweet made on November 21, 2023
  36. "'Stranger Things' Sets January Production Start For Fifth & Final Season" Deadline. December 8, 2023.
  37. "'Stranger Things' Exclusive: Frank Darabont in Talks to Direct Two Episodes of the Hit Show's Final Season" The InSneider. December 19, 2023.
  38. 38.0 38.1 "Frank Darabont Was Happily 'Dragged' Out of Retirement to Direct Two 'Stranger Things' Final Season Episodes: The Series 'Has So Much Heart'" IndieWire. October 3, 2024.
  39. "Stranger Things" Final Season Begins Filming
  40. https://twitter.com/Stranger_Things/status/1744373409935507953
  41. Set photo including clapperboard
  42. https://www.instagram.com/p/C1-Ki3EAwmV/
  43. https://www.instagram.com/rossduffer/p/C2SehjEAIuS/?hl=en&img_index=7
  44. https://twitter.com/struniverse/status/1750265234483220669
  45. https://www.instagram.com/rossduffer/p/C22UZxzAg6J/?hl=en&img_index=6
  46. https://twitter.com/SThingsOnSpain/status/1756005002869350657
  47. https://twitter.com/SThingsOnSpain/status/1756013240641814904/photo/1
  48. https://twitter.com/SThingsOnSpain/status/1756015533898584105/photo/1
  49. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3afXOMgTtO/?igsh=MWs1ZnB5NzltZzA0eg==
  50. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3-jSaTLKo4/?igsh=aWxwaDczZWh6MWNq
  51. https://twitter.com/SThingsSpoilers/status/1767589878148083827?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
  52. "Weeks 9-10"
  53. https://www.instagram.com/p/C40o0QuRuuT/?igsh=MWJ2MXBtdXBxM3N4aQ==
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  56. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7E2bNIg6Rm/?igsh=aXl1a3p0OTNvdDRt
  57. https://www.instagram.com/p/C8-HaanxFks/?igsh=Y292bHc1OW80Zmp6
  58. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEhYTJpC2No
  59. "Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos confirms that Stranger Things 5 will come out next year on Netflix!"
  60. Gaten Matarazzo confirmed the cast read the final episode in an interview with Backstage
  61. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/gaten-matarazzo-stranger-things-podcast-interview-77736/
  62. https://people.com/finn-wolfhard-reveals-very-meaningful-props-he-would-love-to-take-from-stranger-things-set-exclusive-8726394
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  65. 65.0 65.1 Stranger Things 5 - Title Tease
  66. One last adventure begins 🚲 Teaser tomorrow
  67. Stranger Things 5 | Volume 1 Trailer | Netflix
  68. Stranger Things 5 | Volume 2 Trailer | Netflix
  69. Stranger Things 5 | Finale Trailer | Netflix
  70. Who's *really*looking for Jane Hopper? You're not ready for what's to come in Stranger Things 5 #NextOnNetflix
  71. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/features/stranger-things-rewatch
  72. https:https://www.facebook.com/fanofstrangerthing/videos/stranger-things-the-complete-series-is-officially-coming-to-blu-ray-and-4k-uhdmo/2099976144129080//
  73. "David Harbour knows how Stranger Things will end: 'It's quite moving and quite beautiful'" Entertainment Weekly. May 21, 2022.
  74. "'Stranger Things 4': Sadie Sink On Max's Fate & That Heart-wrenching Finale Speech". Deadline. July 4, 2022.
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  76. Eduardo Franco Won't Return As Argyle In 'Stranger Things' Season 5
  77. Catherine Curtin not returning as Claudia Henderson for final season of Stranger Things.
  78. Linda Hamilton Is 'A Hyper-Intelligent And Intimidating' Antagonist In Stranger Things 5
  79. 79.0 79.1 Duffer Brothers Confirm Joseph Quinn Will Not Appear In 'Stranger Things' Season 5: "He's Fully Under That Ground"