The end is near for Stranger Things, as Season 5 will mark the conclusion of the hit Netflix show. At present, there’s a considerable amount of speculation floating around in regard to what lies ahead for the likes of Eleven, Mike, Hopper, Joyce and co. However, something that’s not up for debate is the fact that this is indeed the final chapter for the Hawkins, Indiana characters, specifically. That confirmation comes from series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and they have good reasons for closing the book on their protagonists.
Known collectively as the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things’ pair of creators are quite shrewd when it comes to their storytelling. The pair recently spoke with SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend to discuss some of the finer details of their show’s final season, which will soon hit the 2025 TV schedule. The brothers eventually addressed the notion of producing another installment in this franchise starring these same characters, and Ross shut down that notion:
This really is the end of the story of Eleven and Mike and Lucas and Dustin and Steve and all these characters, and Hawkins specifically. You don’t want to do something in 20 years where a bunch of characters are like, ‘Oh, we better get Mike back, he knew how to handle this!’ That’s not what we’re interested in. We do really want this to be the end of this story, this journey for these characters. We’re being very careful to make sure nothing that we’re doing is going to step on that.
For me, it’s great when creatives tell a specific story and know when it’s time to conclude it. The Duffers seem to be of the mindset that they’ve told the tale they want to tell and want to make sure it ends on a definitive note. Honestly, that’s something I truly appreciate, especially in an entertainment landscape that’s populated by long-running franchises and TV shows that can sometimes overstay their welcomes. While Matt Duffer apparently joked with the cast about doing more, he’s not seriously considering a direct sequel series:
I would joke with our cast that in 20 years, if our careers have really floundered, if we need a paycheque, we can always crawl back, like another rift has opened in the Upside Down. But no, we’ve said everything we want to say about those characters and the Upside Down. There’s not really anything else worth exploring. The book is closed, and the ending wouldn’t be very impactful if we left it cracked open for some sort of sequel.
Fans of the Hawkins characters will get to revisit them, though, thanks to the animated Tales from ‘85 spinoff, which takes place between the events of the second and third seasons. Also, a live-action spinoff is also reportedly in the works, with cast member Finn Wolfhard having sussed out that it’ll be an anthology series of sorts that doesn’t focus on Eleven and co. So, while this IP will expand, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up that they’ll see any of the core characters again following their final battle with the evil Vecna.
The much hyped Stranger Things series finale also marks the end of a chapter for the Duffer Brothers in a number of respects. The conclusion of their hit show also coincides with their decision to leave Netflix for a new deal at Paramount, where they’ll develop TV shows as well as movies that’ll be released theatrically. When it comes to any further ST offshoots, the brothers will serve as EPs, which seemingly indicates they’ll have less involvement. That may seem like a bummer but, at the very least, I’m pleased that they’ve reached the point at which they’re ready to bid a fond farewell to the primary characters they’ve been tracking.
Netflix subscription holders should prepare themselves, as Stranger Things Season 5, Volume 1 arrives on November 26. Volume 2 will then be released on December 25 with the series finale arriving on December 31.