The Stranger Things creators participated in a panel in Los Angeles alongside some of the cast members of the popular show, and during the panel, gave some hints at what’s to come on the Netflix show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Duffer brothers, Matt (Vessel, Wayward Pines) and Ross (Hidden, Eater), were accompanied by executive producer Shawn Levy (Shadow and Bone, Unsolved Mysteries) when announcing that the script for the first episode of the final season of Stranger Things had been turned in and that they are already working on the script for the second episode. The creators were also joined by longtime cast members Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, and Millie Bobby Brown, that joined virtually. Other cast members that also appeared on the panel include popular season four additions Joseph Quinn (Dickensian, C.B. Strike) who plays fan favorite Eddie Munson, Eduardo Franco (Booksmart, The Binge) who plays Argyle, and Jamie Campbell Bower (The Twilight Saga, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones) who plays Vecna.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Levy praised the Duffer brothers for focusing on the characters even after the popularity and complexity of the show. The show has iconic characters, is set in the 80s, and has supernatural elements, but the show’s creators have always managed to handle the characters’ different arcs, which are in Levy’s words, “the lifeblood of Stranger Things.”
During the panel, the Duffer brothers were asked how much the last season will continue to weave in 80s horror and pop culture influences and references. The brothers answered that since it is the show’s final season, they see it as “a culmination of all of the seasons, so it’s sort of got a little bit from each” while other seasons had more distinct influences.
According to Deadline, a key difference between the final season and the previous ones is that the danger of The Upside Down is out in the open in the fifth season. Now, it won’t only be the heroes from Hawkins that are aware of this danger but also their parents and the rest of the community.
Stranger Things is a sci-fi drama that follows a group of teenagers from the small town of Hawkins, Indiana as they try to discover who is behind the mysterious occurrences going on in the town which leads them to battle supernatural forces to protect the rest of the population of Hawkins from the alternate reality known as The Upside Down. The show stars Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes, Godzilla vs. Kong) as Eleven, a mysterious girl with superpowers; Finn Wolfhard (Ghostbuster: Afterlife, It) as Mike Wheeler, Noah Schnapp (Hubie Halloween, Abe) as Will Byers, Gaten Matarazzo (Honor Society, My Father’s Dragon) as Dustin Henderson, McLaughlin (Concrete Cowboy, High Flying Bird) as Lucas Sinclair, Natalia Dyer (Things Heard & Seen, Tuscaloosa) as Nancy Wheeler, Joe Keery (Free Guy, Spree) as Steve Harrington, Charlie Heaton (The New Mutants, No Future) as Jonathan Byers, David Harbor (Black Widow, Hellboy) as Jim Hopper, and Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands, Girl, Interrupted) as Joyce Byers. Other characters that have joined the main cast as the seasons go along are Max Mayfield played by Sadie Sink (Fear Street: Part Two, Eli), Erica Sinclair played by Ferguson (The Curse of Bridge Hollow, Hamster & Gretel), Robin Buckley played by Maya Hawke (Do Revenge, Fear Street: Part One), and Murray Bauman played by Brett Gelman (Fleabag, Metal Lords).
Season five of Stranger Things is still in the early stages of production and has no release date yet. Seasons one through four are available to watch on Netflix.