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The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is nearly here, and some of your favorite characters may not be making an appearance.
Keep reading for a complete list of actors who didn’t make the cut for S5.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer first announced that season 5 would be its last season ahead of the season 4 premiere in May 2022, taking to social media and shared a heartfelt note about the series.
“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things,” The Duffer Brothers said. “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 see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; Season 5 will be the last.”
They continued, “With nine scripts, over eight-hundred pages, almost two years of filming, thousands of visual effects shots, and a runtime nearly twice the length of any previous season, Stranger Things 4 was the most challenging season yet, but also the most rewarding one,” they wrote, noting that it was “the beginning of the end.”
Production on the fifth and final season began in January 2024, and officially wrapped in December 2024.
While not much is known thus far about the final season, some of the production crew has shared some major teasers. Matt and Ross spoke to SFX Magazine in April 2022 and explained that “even with five [seasons] it’s going to feel like it’s ending a little early.” However, “We’re going to feel like we still have a lot more gas left in the tank. But I think that it’s better to end there with us wanting more. That’s why ending at five felt like the right move.”
The sibling duo also detailed their decision to end the show while chatting with Variety in May 2022.
“During the six-month pandemic hiatus, we outlined season 5 and pitched it to Netflix. Everyone there had also been present when we first pitched the show in 2015,” they recalled. “While we were strangers then, we were now friends and there were a lot of tears when it was over. It’s just been an extraordinary journey for all of us, and while it’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end, we feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing partners.”
Scroll through our gallery below to uncover which of the Stranger Things cast won’t be returning for season 5.
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