Stranger Things may have only wrapped up Season 4 earlier this year, but the wait for the fifth and final season is already underway and anticipation is building to record highs. Following the news that the title of the first Season 5 episode had been revealed, show creators The Duffer Bros. have now disclosed more details about the route they'll be taking to wrap up the show.
Speaking to Netflix, via their Tudum site, the Duffers explained that, following the immense success they experienced in the aftermath of the cultural landmark that was Season 1, they had to build outwards and expand the world, the mythology - and the eventual endgame for Hawkins, Indiana.
“The success of Season 1 freaked us out and then we knew we needed to build up this bigger world, that this was going to be ongoing,” said Ross Duffer. "That meant prep for Season 2 included filling up a whiteboard with every idea the writers’ room could imagine. But it was way too much — [five times] more ideas than we needed, or [ten times]. For Season 5, we're pulling from a lot of those big Season 2 ideas… A lot of our big ending stuff has pulled from stuff that we thought was going to be in Season 2.”
Dedicated fans of the show will recall that Season 2 focused on Will Byers (Noah Schapp) and his recovery from spending a prolonged length of time in the Upside Down, as well as his connection to the Mind Flayer. Not only that, but it further explored Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her past at Hawkins Laboratory, which was subsequently a huge feature of Season 4. That included her relationship with Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) who, through a show of terrifying power, she banished into the Upside Down, turning him into the fearsome Vecna, who would terrorize Hawkins.
Vecna, of course, is still on the board - in Dungeons & Dragons parlance - heading into this final season, which will see the Upside Down beginning to bleed into Hawkins. For fans who have felt Will has been underserved as a character, the chance to have the final season revolve around him is sure to be a welcome one. Having edited their initial roadmap following the COVID-enforced production delays on Season 4, the Duffers manage to outline Season 5 before the release of the preceding season.
Having reassessed things, they pitched their new vision of the ending to Netflix, the home of the show. “We reread the document,” said Matt Duffer. “We’re like, ‘That’s cool, that’s cool. That could be a lot better. That could be a lot better. Even the ending is a little bit different [now]. A lot of the big ideas are the same, but the stuff that happens within, it's very different.”
Stranger Things will begin filming its fifth and final season in 2023, with a release date yet to be announced.