Listen up nerds! The fifth season of Stranger Things has started production over on Netflix and you can see the first image shared of the cast and writers above.
The fourth season of the supernatural series was so big that it was split into two parts and saw Eleven and the gang from Hawkins fight off against new big bad, Vecna (it also introduced a whole new generation to Kate Mosss epic banger, ‘Running Up That Hill’).
The strikes affected production
Production on the fifth season was supposed to start sooner but was delayed due to the strikes taking place in Hollywood. “Writing does not stop when filming begins,” Stranger Things writers, the Duffer brothers, said on the official Stranger Things writer Twitter page back in May. “While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work.”
The team announced their return to the writing room in September.
What the Duffer brothers have said about Season Five
We know a few things about the upcoming season – firstly, that it will be the final season of the show and the first episode is expected to be called ‘The Crawl’. “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,” the brothers said in a letter announcing the final season.
“We’re starting season five and already things are very bad,” the Duffer brothers said of season five in its Tudum special. “So 4 and 5 are going to sit really well together. Dustin’s been impacted a lot by the death of Eddie and that’s going to really affect his storyline in 5. I think we’re going to see a side of Dustin we haven’t seen before.”
The brothers also revealed that season five probably won’t be as long as season four because the action will already be ramped up from the very beginning: “They’re going after Vecna from minute one,” they said.
However, they also said that the season will include a “few more revelations” but that they need to make sure they give their characters “time to make these finals arcs”.
“It’s going to be like Season One on steroids,” the brothers revealed.
Cast and director announcements
We also know that Season Five has a brand new cast member – Terminator star Linda Hamilton! “I don’t know how to be a fangirl and an actress at the same time,” Hamilton said during her video announcement at Tudum. “I’m gonna work on that.”
Not only that but 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey director Dan Trachtenberg is set to direct an episode of the upcoming season.
More from Hawkins
If you’re desperate for more Hawkins action while you’re waiting for the fifth season of Stranger Things, there are plenty of Upside Down action to keep you occupied. Firstly, the Stranger Things play Stranger Things: The First Shadow is currently playing at the Pheonix Theatre in London and promises a ‘gripping new adventure that will take you right back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story – and may hold the key to the end!’
Beyond that, there’s a Stranger Things board game and Stranger Things VR, which launched for Meta Quest back in November and features the voice talents of Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna and Matthew Modine as Dr. Brenner.
