26. July 2025

'Anxiety mixed with excitement': Stranger Things cast reflects on series finale and upcoming spin-off

After five seasons, Stranger Things is coming to an end—but fans won’t have to wait long for more, as creators Matt and Ross Duffer reveal a spin-off series is already in early development. “We’re excited about it, even though it’s still in the early stages,” Matt Duffer told the BBC. “It will feature new characters and a fresh mystery, so it’s different, but it’s set in the same Stranger Things universe.”

The Duffer brothers explained that while the original story was always intended as a self-contained arc, there’s still more to explore. “This is definitely the end for these characters,” Ross Duffer clarified. “We always saw the main story as having a clear beginning, middle, and end, and we stuck to that plan.”

The final scene, Matt added, was “the one thing we had mapped out from the start. It was our north star—we built the entire final season around it.” Set in autumn 1987, Season 5 finds Hawkins, Indiana, scarred by the opening of the Rifts. The core group of friends must track down and defeat Vecna, while the town remains under military quarantine as the hunt for Eleven intensifies.

The brothers, who were in their early 30s when the show premiered, initially planned for four or five seasons, but admit it still feels surreal to have reached the end. “When you’re immersed in making the show, you forget how far it’s come,” Ross said. “Every season, we pour our hearts into it, and when we made Season 1, we weren’t even sure we’d get a second.”

The cast shared similar sentiments. Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington—evolving from a high school jock to a heroic mentor—recalled saying goodbye after Season 1, unsure if he’d ever see his co-stars again. “Season 1 felt like an indie film, and now it’s this massive big-budget production,” the 33-year-old said in disbelief. “By the time we wrapped the final season after a year of filming, it felt like we’d been working on it forever—but the friendships we made will last a lifetime.”

Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler) noted that the off-screen bonds mirror their on-screen relationships: “These characters share a secret world only they understand, and in real life, we have something similar—we’re the only ones who know this show inside and out.” Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) agreed: “The events in the show change these characters forever, and this show has changed our lives forever too.”

While reports of behind-the-scenes tensions—including an unconfirmed harassment claim filed by Millie Bobby Brown against co-star David Harbour, as reported by The Mail on Sunday—have surfaced, the cast insists their friendships remain strong. The Duffer brothers emphasized their responsibility to protect the younger cast members throughout filming.

“When we cast them, we had no idea the show would become what it is,” Ross said. “You hear so many horror stories about young people in the spotlight, but having a group of peers going through it together helped—they could lean on each other during tough times.”

Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) admitted growing up in the public eye was challenging: “You’re going through puberty and a major life change like Stranger Things at the same time.” His co-stars Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) echoed the sentiment, laughing about how young they were when they first met.

Matarazzo, 23, opened up about the anxiety of moving on: “I’m a bit nervous, but that’s part of it. Your twenties are about change and growth, and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to build consistent careers. It’s scary to leave the comfort of Stranger Things, but I’m optimistic about what’s next.”

The show’s legacy is undeniable—turning a cast of newcomers into global stars and building a fanbase that grew up alongside the characters. Caleb McLaughlin hopes the connection endures: “I want the show to live on as something people rewatch endlessly, like a classic film.”

Saying goodbye was made harder by the impact of the show, and McLaughlin vividly remembers the final day of filming: “Everyone was there, and it felt like going back to Episode 1—this sense of home, support, and love. We were all on the same page about what this show meant to us.”

Netflix has already announced an animated follow-up, while details about the Duffer brothers’ live-action spin-off remain under wraps. As for the current cast, Matarazzo said: “Our part in the Stranger Things story is done for now, but if they called us back someday, who knows?”

The first four episodes of Season 5 will be available in the US on 26 November, with three more arriving on Christmas Day and the finale on New Year’s Eve. UK viewers will get each installment a day later.

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