On Monday, Netflix swept fans off their feet by announcing that the fifth and final edition of Stranger Things, to finally begin filming.
The production of Season 5 was supposed to be rolling last year in May but the onset of the WGA (Writers Guild of America Strike) on May 2, made it difficult for the series makers to proceed with the filming in the absence of the writers on the set.
Netflix posted the announcement with a heartwarming black-and-white photo of the cast on X, all sitting together along with the Duffer brothers and Jamie Campbell, underneath a glowing, neon red “5” sign hanging on the wall, Seemingly, the beloved sci-fi show is returning with the original cast as Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Winona Ryder (Joyce Boyer) and David Harbour (Hopper) can be spotted in the picture.
The other familiar faces spotted in the picture are that of the stars, Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), and Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), were all present in the picture. Actors who played the older teens like Charlie Heaton (Johnathon Byers), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) and Amybeth McNulty (Robin’s love interest Vickie) were also there.
Last year in June, Terminator star Linda Hamilton was confirmed to be a part of the hyped series as the streamer posted on X, announcing the same. However, no new faces could be spotted in the Hawkins universe from the picture that Netflix posted on Monday.
The twin showrunners mentioned to Indiewire that they are not intending to cast any new actors as Ross Duffer said, “… we can’t add someone that’s going to just take away from our characters if they are not terrific.” Season 5, primarily is about wrapping up the story of the existing characters. In the same interview, Ross talked about how they have been figuring out the details of the mythology of the Upside Down, season-wise, leaving by ‘huge goalposts,’ in his words but Season 5 will be the final reveal of what it really is. The entire narrative will unfold focusing on Noah Schnapp’s character, Will Byers.
It is quite possible that the farewell season of Stranger Things needs to do a time jump to match up the ages of the actors playing the characters, as, Brown who is 18 now in real life, is 14 as Eleven in Season 4. Also, this time, as Matt Duffer revealed in an interview with The Wrap Season 5 will have a lesser watch time than its predecessor: “I don’t think it’ll be as long.. The final few is going to be more like a Return of the Jedi in that…”
As of now, there is only news about Dan Trachtenberg directing one of the episodes. Netflix has not revealed an official release date for the final season but reportedly, the show is expected to have a break shorter than it was between Seasons 3 and 4, which was three years.
However, amid the excitement and teary anticipation welcoming the closing season of the series, there have been rumours of significant backlashes towards Noah Schnapp. Reportedly, the controversy arose after the actor was spotted in an Instagram story, passing around stickers with the prints, “Zionism is sexy,” and “Hamas is Isis,” with friends in a coffee shop. Stranger Things Season 5 may not be all rainbows and glitters as much as the hype is if the ongoing controversy makes the fans demand the actor’s removal from the show.
