Stranger Things Season 5: Cast, Theories, Release Date Prediction, and Everything to Know

We finally have our first look at the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. No, it's not a trailer, but it is a behind the scenes video narrated by the cast that gives a few brief glimpses at the production. While we likely won't see new episodes until 2025, at least this is something.

In the meantime, we're keeping tabs on all the latest Stranger Things Season 5 news, including any information that gives us a lead on a release date and any other rumblings we can find. Here is everything we know so far. 

Latest Stranger Things Season 5 news

On July 15, Netflix unveiled the first look at Stranger Things Season 5 in the form of a behind-the-scenes video. While nothing too revealing is shown, there's plenty of narration from the cast to get you excited about what's to come. "Season 4 was big; Season 5 definitely feels bigger," says Jamie Campbell Bower. 

Along with the video, Netflix also revealed that three new cast members have joined the final season, per Variety: Nell Fisher, Alex Breaux, and Jake Connelly.

Stranger Things Season 5 production

In the behind-the-scenes video released in July, Caleb McLaughlin says in voiceover that the cast is "about halfway through filming" the final season. 

Production on Stranger Things Season 5 began in January. Netflix shared a photo of the cast and creators in a press release.

It was previously announced that production would be delayed because of the writers strike for fair wages, which was followed by the actors strike. In May 2023, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer tweeted, "Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we're excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work."

Stranger Things Season 5 release date prediction

A release date for Stranger Things Season 5 has not been announced yet, and it likely won't be revealed any time soon. The series was notably missing from Netflix's 2024 slate. Barring a big surprise, that means you should probably expect to see the conclusion of the Stranger Things saga in 2025.

Prior to the 2023 strikes, David Harbour told GQ UK in 2022 that he estimated a mid-2024 release date, but his co-star Finn Wolfhard implied that Season 5 will be out sometime in 2025. "By the time [Season 5] comes out, I will be 22," Wolfhard said in a GQ video in February 2023.

Stranger Things Season 5 cast 

The behind-the-scenes video confirmed that the main Hawkins crew will return for Season 5. That includes Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna, which isn't too big of a surprise considering that we knew the entity was still alive at the end of Season 4. That video was released in tandem with the announcement that the series will add three new cast members in Season 5, all in undisclosed roles: Nell Fisher, Alex Breaux, and Jake Connelly. They join the previously announced Linda Hamilton as new additions to the cast.

There's one key name who doesn't seem to be returning for Season 5: Eduardo Franco, who played Argyle in Season 4, has said he will not appear in Season 5. "I never got a phone call, so I think that's it," Franco said in a YouTube interview with Steve Varley in January (via the Los Angeles Times).

Main cast members:

• Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
• Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers
• David Harbour as Jim Hopper
• Noah Schnapp as Will Byers
• Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler 
• Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson
• Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair
• Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield
• Joe Keery as Steve Harrington
• Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
• Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley
• Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers
• Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair
• Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna

Stranger Things Season 5 details

Creators Matt and Ross Duffer have given a hint about what the tone of Season 5 will be. During an awards-season panel hosted by Netflix in November 2022, the duo said that while previous seasons echoed specific types of '80s pop culture, Season 5 will have some of everything that made the show what it is. "Five, the way we see it, is kind of a culmination of all the seasons, so it's sort of got a little bit from each," Ross Duffer said, according to Variety. "Whereas before each season was so distinctly… [Season] 3 is our big summer blockbuster season with big monsters, and [Season] 4 was the psychological horror. I think that what we're trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit, in sort of the tone of 1." 

They also said that the final season is all about serving the characters who have been around since Season 1 and bringing closure to the mysteries the show has introduced over the years. "It's important to wrap up those arcs because a lot of these characters have been growing since Season 1," Ross Duffer told Variety. "So, it's a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also tying up these loose ends and doing our final reveals."

Writing for Season 2 began on Aug. 2, 2022. The official Stranger Things Twitter account celebrated "Stranger Things Day" on Nov. 6, 2022, by sharing a pic of a Season 5 script, revealing the first episode name: "Chapter One: The Crawl." 

Stranger Things Season 4 explained

If you need a refresher on who Vecna is, how he was created, and what his twisted vision is for the world, TV Guide breaks it all down in this video.

9:14

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For a breakdown of Season 4, Part 2, TV Guide's sister site GameSpot explained all of the big moments in the finale and what they mean for Hawkins, and the world, going into Season 5.

Stranger Things Season 4 recap

The world of Stranger Things officially turned Upside Down at the end of Season 4. Vecna is hurt but still very much in charge after using Max to open the fourth and final gate he needed to bring the Upside Down into Hawkins. The opening of the gate left Max in a coma after she was revived by Eleven, and it remains to be seen if she will ever wake up, or if she will even still be the Max we know and love if she does. 

The entire crew, including Joyce, Hopper, Jonathan, Mike, Will, Dustin, Erica, Lucas, Eleven, Steve, Robin, and Nancy, has reunited in Indiana after spending the entire season across the country, and even across continents, from each other. They're facing a huge battle to take back their town from the demon psychic Upside Down overlord. Hawkins has fallen, and it's going to take every resource they have to save it. 

What to watch next

With a multi-year wait between seasons of Stranger Things, there are a lot of epic sci-fi shows to check out in the meantime. Here's a list of 17 other shows like Stranger Things for you to binge while you wait for new episodes. 

Stranger Things Seasons 1-4 are streaming on Netflix.