The hit show “Stranger Things” took the world by storm, quickly rising to fame in the summer of 2016. Eight years later, the show is finally reaching its end.
After season four came out in 2022, season five was supposed to follow and ultimately be released quickly. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this was definitely not the case.
Filming the new season was put on hold in May 2023 due to the Writer’s Guild strike that lasted until November 2023. After this, filming continued in January 2024. As of this summer, they reached the halfway point, leaving season five to finally hit Netflix sometime in 2025.
Obviously, it has been quite some time since season one was released in real life, but the show so far has taken place over only two to three years. This brings up a big problem for the main cast, who are meant to be young teenagers but are now in their twenties and absolutely do not look like children. Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Max (Sadie Sink) are all supposed to be 15. However, the actors are now 20-22 years old instead. During season four, it was painfully obvious that the actors were not the correct ages, so now audiences are afraid of what season five will look like since more time has passed.
It is more obvious with the younger actors that they are a few years older than their character simply because the teenage years are when outside appearances really change. With the older actors still playing teenagers, like Joe Keery, who plays Steve, you can’t tell the age difference as much even though it is way larger. Steve is supposed to be 19 years old, but Joe Keery is 31, which makes him 12 years older than his character. It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?
Ignoring the issue of the aging process, everyone from the previous season will be coming back and making an appearance this season, with the addition of three new actors.
Though we don’t know much about what the series last season will be about, we know it will surely be a tear-jerker. It’s sure to include twists, turns, fear, and tug at our heartstrings. Writer, director, and producer of “Stranger Things,” Ross Duffer, gave insight to “The Wrap” regarding the series finale. Duffer said, “I mean, it was hard. It’s the end of the story. I saw executives crying who I’ve never seen cry before and it was wild.”
Since “Stranger Things” became such a beloved series, fans are willing to put aside any displeasure they may have about the cast, story, or even the timeline, just to see how this story ends. It will surely go down in cinematic history books as the best Netflix original series.
