Vecna isn’t done with Hawkins just yet. After Season 4’s shocking finale, it’s no surprise that fans have been clamoring for Stranger Things Season 5. The good news is there is another season of the hit Netflix series on the way. The bad news? Season 5 will be the show’s final season, and that fact feels far more real after Netflix released a behind-the-scenes teaser video on July 15.

Go and ahead cry now, because when Season 5 does land on Netflix, you’ll be too busy trying to follow the Upside Down drama to get too emotional (at least at first, anyway).

Speaking with Collider back in 2022, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed the final season will jump right into the action this time. “This season, for instance, it was two hours before our characters even realized the monster was killing people in Hawkins,” Ross said. “They know what the threat is now, and so that will help speed it up.”

That no doubt means there’s more heartbreak ahead for Eleven, Hopper, Will, Steve, and the rest of the Hawkins gang before they defeat Vecna and the rest of the Upside Down baddies for good. But it also means fans are in for plenty of drama before they bid Stranger Things farewell. While no one is ready to say goodbye to Eleven and her friends, it is comforting to know that everyone involved in making the series is passionate about serving up a conclusion that’s befitting the smash-hit sci-fi series.

Ready for some scoop worthy of The Hawkins Post? Read on for all the secrets the Duffers and the cast have spilled about Stranger Things Season 5 so far.

Is there a trailer for Stranger Things Season 5?

Yes and no. On July 15, Netflix revealed a first look at Season 5 from a behind-the-scenes perspective, showing everyone’s favorite Hawkins residents and featuring the cast’s reflections on where those characters are headed going into the final chapter.

“I started when I was 10; I’m not turning 20 years old. Feels very weird,” muses Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven (and who’s officially all grown up now — she recently married Jon Bon Jovi’s son, Jake Bongiovi).

Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas, promises “100%, the wait will be worth it,” while Jamie Campbell Bower, aka Vecna, teases, “Season 4 was big — Season 5 definitely feels bigger.”

When will Stranger Things Season 5 premiere?

Season 4 of Stranger Things was split into two parts premiering on May 27 and July 1, 2022, respectively, and the super-sized season premiered after a nearly three-year wait between Seasons 3 and 4.

The primary reason behind the long break between the previous two seasons was the pandemic, and the Duffers don’t foresee another extended delay. “Don’t hold us to it, but the gap should be quite a bit shorter this time, due to the fact that we already have an initial outline, and we can’t imagine there will be another six-month forced hiatus,” the brothers recently told Variety.

In the new behind-the-scenes teaser video, the brothers reveal, “We’re about halfway through filming now, and it’s exciting. There’s so much going on.” So, given that timeline, Season 5 should finish filming by the end of the year.

According to star Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Season 5 should premiere sometime in early 2025.

Who will be in the cast for Stranger Things Season 5?

The Duffers have promised Season 5 will take Stranger Things back to the beginning again. Part of that process will involve focusing on the characters who viewers have been watching since the very start.

Fans can expect to see the following actors back for Season 5: Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Harbour (Hopper), Winona Ryder (Joyce), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Noah Schnapp (Will), Priah Ferguson (Erica), Joe Keery (Steve), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), and Maya Hawke (Robin).

Sadie Sink (Max) is the only big question mark after Season 4. At the end of the season, Max is left in a coma, and even Sink is unsure what the future holds for her. “I’m not sure where we’re going and what Max’s state is. It’s definitely all up in the air right now,” she told Entertainment Weekly after the season finale. “I’m just as excited as everyone else to find out where Max is and how she’s doing.”

On the plus side, the new behind-the-scenes teaser video shows Sadie looking alert and intact, so here’s hoping for the best!

Meanwhile, during a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Duffers confirmed that both Eddie (Joseph Quinn) and Brenner (Matthew Modine) are really dead. As for Vecna, the character is defeated for the moment, but he’s not gone, so expect to see Jamie Campbell Bower back again.

As for new additions, the behind-the-scenes teaser confirmed three: Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux.

Are there any Stranger Things Season 5 spoilers?

The Duffers are understandably keeping mum about what’s next for Eleven and the rest of the gang, but they have let a few small spoilers slip. Most notably, Season 5 will bring the action back to Hawkins after a season that saw the characters scattered from Indiana to California and Russia. The goal is to hearken back to Season 1 in tone.

“I think one of the things that’s exciting about Season 5 is [that] Season 4 was interesting to us because everyone was scattered to the winds,” Matt told Collider. “That’s what was unique about it. But this is about everyone finally coming back. Coming back together, coming back to Hawkins. Hopper is back in Hawkins. The original group [is] back together — the original group of boys plus Eleven. The OG group. There’s something interesting to re-explore some of the Season 1 dynamics again, except on this grander scale.”

The return to Hawkins will also likely bring with it a time jump, although the Duffers haven’t revealed how much time will pass between seasons. “I’m sure we will do a time jump,” Ross told TV Line in June. How big the jump will be depends on how quickly filming resumes since the teens at the heart of the series are growing up right before viewers’ eyes.

According to Screenrant, rumor has it that Erica might get a more significant role in the fifth season. In Season 4 of Stranger Things it was “hinted” that Lucas’ pint-size little sister could be key to the conclusion of the Vecna downfall. As to how, well, that’s still under wraps.

In a recent interview with Collider, Matt revealed new information about Will’s storyline in Season 5.

“Will’s going to be a big part and focus, is really all I can say of Season 5,” Matt said. “We’re starting to see his coming of age, really. Which has been challenging for a number of reasons, some of which are supernatural. But you’re starting to see him come into his own. I also love that scene between him and Charlie, him and his brother, Jonathan. His brother being there for him. I think that reconnecting with his brother.”

Ross went on to add, “And again, that’s setting up us coming full circle back to Season 1. I think you’ll see that with a couple of the character arcs, not just with Will.”

Do the Duffer Brothers know how Season 5 will end?

It seems the Duffers have known how Stranger Things would end for quite some time now — they just weren’t sure how long it would take to get there.

“During the six-month pandemic hiatus, we outlined Season 5 and pitched it to Netflix,” the Duffers told Variety. “Everyone there had also been present when we first pitched the show in 2015. 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.”

In other words, go ahead and stock up on tissues now.

This article was originally published on July 6, 2022