Stranger Things showrunners Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, and EP Shawn Levy have teased fans with what they can expect from Season 5 of their hit sci-fi drama. The final season will be “a culmination” of the previous seasons, with questions raised throughout the series answered, more ’80s pop culture references included, and a new level of danger.
As revealed in a recent article by Deadline, the Stranger Things creators have revealed more about the final season, explaining that it will be a mix of previous seasons. “[Season] 5, the way we see it, is kind of a culmination of all the seasons, so it’s got a little bit from each,” Ross Duffer said during Netflix’s Sunday night panel at Tudum Theater in Los Angeles. “I think that what we’re trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit, in sort of the tone of [Season] 1. But also scale-wise, it’s more aligned with what [Season] 4 is. So, hopefully, it’s got a little bit of everything.” This may include further references to ’80s pop culture, just as the previous season focused on A Nightmare on Elm Street’s villain Freddy Kreuger. The writing staff are moving “full steam ahead” and have already reached the second episode, with Netflix having received the script for the first episode, ‘Chapter One: The Crawl,’ two weeks ago. This includes having also begun writing by “develop[ing] an overall plan and backstory” for Season 2’s Upside Down arena.
The showrunners confirmed that the final season will continue answering questions raised in previous seasons, as well as ensuring the various character arcs are wrapped up by the series finale. Whilst many of the questions raised about the Upside Down arena were answered throughout Season 4, “quite a bit” more will be unraveled in the upcoming season. More importantly, each character’s story will be finalised. “But just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now, most of whom are still living. It’s important to wrap up those arcs because a lot of these characters have been growing since Season 1,” Ross Duffer said, going on to explain that it will be a “balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs, and also tying up these loose ends and doing our final reveals.” Director and executive producer Levy praised the Duffer twins for their focus on the characters, even with the show primarily focused on “the ’80s and the supernatural and the [sci-fi] genre.” “Season 5 is already so clearly taking care of these stories of characters, because that’s always been the lifeblood of Stranger Things,” Levy said.
The new season of Stranger Things will also be different to previous seasons in the nature of the danger the characters face. Creator Matt Duffer revealed that it will not just be the teenage protagonists facing danger, but their parents and the entire community. “[The danger is] all kind of out in the open,” Duffer said. No more was revealed about this danger, nor has a release date been set for the new season.
Stranger Things was renewed by Netflix for a fifth and final season in February this year. The sci-fi drama follows a group of teenagers living in Hawkins, Indiana during the 1980s who must battle supernatural forces from an alternate reality known as The Upside Down. The series stars Millie Bobby Brown (as Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Natalie Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), and Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield). The series is executive produced by Levy and Dan Cohen.
Stranger Things is currently streaming on Netflix. Challenge yourself with Stranger Things trivia hosted by Megan Thee Stallion below: