Stranger Things Season 5: Cast, Story & Everything We Know

You'd have thought that the love for Stranger Things would have capped out at the huge blast it made upon its first release, but four seasons down... it's never been stronger.

Season 4 of the '80s nostalgia machine proved that Stranger Things is just as strong now as it has ever been - introducing instantly iconic characters and promoting Joseph Quinn to the prestigious title of Twitter's white boy of the month.

The adventures of Eleven and her weirdly-trimmed mates are still a massive pulling factor for Netflix, and as the Hellfire Club cult has proven, fans aren't done with it quite yet. So, this begs the question - when are we getting our fifth season?

Here's everything we know so far about the Stranger Things Season 5 cast, story, and more.

What do we know about Stranger Things Season 5?

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Not knowing when exactly the new season is coming is frustrating, but we've had confirmation from the Duffer Brothers that Stranger Things season 5 won't be subjected to the long wait that season 4 did.

Speaking with Variety, the Duffers hyped the Stranger Things season 5 release date and said: "The gap should be quite a bit shorter this time, due to the fact that we already have an initial outline, and we can't imagine there will be another six-month forced hiatus." 

It doesn't look as though Stranger Things season 5 is filming just yet, though it's expected to begin before the end of 2022. Either way, this window probably puts the release date around late 2023 or early 2024.

Stranger Things Season 5 Cast

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Stranger Things is nothing without its leading cast, so we can probably expect a lot of them to return - though whether they'll all make it until the end is entirely up for debate.

Speaking to Variety, Maya Hawke (Robin) spoke out about the lack of major character deaths. Discussing Eddie's iconic death, Hawke said, "I don't think he should’ve died, but I do think the show has too many characters."

The Duffer brothers have spoken candidly about the final season being set up for more of a focus on our leading cast rather than developing new characters like season 4's Eddie and Chrissy - but it's likely that Jamie Campbell Bower will return as big bag Vecna.

In terms of the rest of the cast, we'd be stunned if we didn't see the core gang of Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), and Noah Schnapp (Will).

Elsewhere, the supporting cast is sure to expand beyond Winona Ryder (Joyce), David Harbour (Hopper), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Sadie Sink (Max), Joe Keery (Steve), and Maya Hawke (Robin).

Stranger Things Season 5 Story

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Considering we're refocussing on "The Party" and the Duffer Brothers have mentioned that the new season will feature a time jump to accommodate for the ageing of the main cast, Stranger Things season 5 could feasibly enter brand new territory.

Could we really head into the beginning of the '90s to swap the Ghostbusters references for Home Alone and Edward Scissorhands? Along with this, the fact that Vecna isn't exactly dead means that his return could make for the Hellfire Club's final battle.

Discussing what it's like to wave goodbye to Hopper, Harbour told Collider, "I know those Duffer brothers are very specific, and I know they want to get that last season. I mean if you look at Season 4, I have a feeling that Season 5 may not be as long."

"It certainly will be packed to the brim with good stuff that you love. I mean, they really are getting better at giving you that home run that the audiences love. And I think that Season 5 will do that so much."

We don't have any specifics, but according to Matt Duffer, "It's going to be different than what anyone is expecting, including Netflix." Blimey. Either way, we're excited to go upside down one last time.