David Harbour just gave an exciting Stranger Things s5 update

Stranger Things season four volume two landed on Netflix last year, and naturally we're already looking ahead to more instalments of the blockbuster sci-fi drama. Volumes one and two dropped respectively in May and July 2022, and now fans are praying it's not too long until Netflix streams season five.

There's already plenty of talk about what Stranger Things season five might entail, after the show's creators confirmed that a fifth series is definitely happening, but that it will sadly be the last. Here's everything we know about season five so far...

What have the Stranger Things cast said about season 5?

David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper in the Netflix show, spoke to the Happy Sad Confused podcast in August 2023 to give a small insight into what to expect about season 5. Sadly, he also confirmed the production had been impacted by SAG-AFTRA union strikes, and hadn't started in June 2023 as originally planned.

"It'll take a while to shoot, which will be tough since we can't get started yet, but it is what it is," Harbour said. "I'm excited to go back. I'm excited to wrap it up in a bold, amazing way, and I'm excited to really swing with this character. Because you know that they're really going to pay off these OG characters — Eleven, Hopper, Will, Joyce, Mike — they're going to pay them off in big ways, because they've lived with you for the past eight years."

In terms of the upcoming season's storyline, Harbour added, "You've got to imagine where it starts after Season 4 ended," harking back to the season's final moments." Vague.

When did writing begin on Stranger Things season 5?

In August 2022, the Stranger Things writing team confirmed that they've started work on season 5. The update was short and sweet, shared along with a picture of an empty whiteboard from the Stranger Things Writers' Room Twitter account. They added the caption, "Day 1," with the whiteboard showing just a Stranger Things 5 logo.

What will happen in Stranger Things season 5?

As is always the case with Stranger Things, there are almost definitely twists and turns to look forward to. But creators The Duffer Brothers have revealed one key detail about the next season: that it will likely feature a time jump from season four.

"We learn a lot every time we make a [season]," Matt Duffer told TVLine. "We've learned a lot just working with all of our new actors and the ones that we've worked with for a long time over this year [making season 4], so I'm sure it'll change a little bit from that outline."

He continued, "I'm sure we will do a time jump. Ideally, we'd have shot [seasons 4 and 5] back to back, but there was just no feasible way to do that. So these are all discussions we're going to have with our writers when we start the room up. Believe it or not, we're still working on season 4. We’re trying to finish the final two episodes, they’re so massive."

Previously, the brothers also teased "more exciting stories" to come from the Stranger Things universe, while also nodding towards what we can expect to happen in the fifth series.

In their S5 announcement statement, the creators wrote: "There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes. But first we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternate dimension known only as the Upside Down."

Elsewhere, the creators teased details on the season five finale, telling SFX, "We know what the ending is."

Matt Duffer went on, "It's conceivable that it changes but I think it's unlikely because it's one of those endings that just feels, and has always felt, right. And it also feels sort of inevitable. Then when you come up with it, you're like, 'oh yeah well, that is absolutely what is has to be.'"

When was Stranger Things season 5 confirmed?

The Stranger Things creators confirmed that season five was indeed going ahead, in an open letter to fans published via Netflix in February 2022. However, they also announced that series five would unfortunately mark the end of Stranger Things.

Ahead of season four's release, they wrote: "Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but – as you’ll soon see for yourselves – we are now hurtling toward our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; season 5 will be the last."

Hey, all good things must come to an end and all that, right?

Netflix also appeared to hint towards the show's final season with an upside down (geddit?) sign reading, "Every ending has a beginning." Cryptic.

Stranger Things season 5 cast

We'd expect all of our favourite Stranger Things cast members to be back on our screens for season five, including Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Noah Schnapp (Will), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Sadie Sink (Max), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Joe Keery (Steve), Priah Ferguson (Erica) and Winona Ryder (Joyce).

Fans are also hoping some of the new season four characters will return, like Eduardo Franco as Argyle (but maybe not Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna.) A whole host of new characters joined the cast for season four, so we can expect the same will happen in season five.

Stranger Things season 5 release date speculation

We sadly might be waiting a while for season five. "We're going to take a little vacation in July [2022]” Ross Duffer told Collider after season four part two dropped. "And then we're going to come back. I know that the writer's room is going to start in that first week of August 2022."

Separately, David Harbour, who plays Hopper, also theorised about a potential release date for the fifth and final season. "I think we'll [shoot] next year [2o33]," he told GQ. "They're finishing writing it this year, and they need to prep and stuff, so hopefully it'll be this year.

"But I think that's the plan. So it'd probably come out mid-2024, based on our track record."

Filming on Stranger Things season four wrapped around September 2021, with the series released in late May 2022 - around eight months later. We know that Stranger Things season five started filming in June 2023 - though it's possible union strikes over in the US has impacted things - which means we're looking at a mid- to late-2024 release date earliest.

Hey, at least there are four whole seasons on Netflix to keep us going in the meantime!

What about a Stranger Things spin-off?

The good news is, while Stranger Things will end with season five, the creators are already eyeing up the idea of a spin-off - although they've teased it will be completely different to what fans might be expecting.

"I've read these rumours that there's gonna be an Eleven spin-off, that there's gonna be a Steve and Dustin spin-off or that it's another number," the Duffer Brothers said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in July 2022. "That's not interesting to me because we've done all that. We've spent I don't know how many hours exploring all of that. So it's very different."

Instead, Matt and Ross suggest the spin-off will be attached to the original series by "storytelling sensibility", whatever that means.

Stranger Things seasons 1 - 4 are now streaming on Netflix.

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