Since its inception, Stranger Things has always been a TV show rooted in reality.
Yes, believe it or not, this show about an alternate dimension, telepathic children, and ghoulish Demogorgons has managed to keep us on the edge of our seats, largely by making us believe its premise could just as quickly happen to one of us. Not every show has – or even wants – to succeed in this way, but Stranger Things does, and a chunk of that credit goes to its cast of talented young actors; child stars who have carried the weight of Hawkins, Indiana on their 12-year-old shoulders ever since season one.
Come late 2024 or 2025, the fifth and final season of Stranger Things will air on Netflix, bringing to a close the story of once-middle school nerds and members of the Hellfire Club, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sadie Sink), and their superpowered friend Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
By that point, these young actors will no longer be kids. All of them will be in their 20s, including Finn Wolfhard, who alluded to the fifth season’s release date in an interview with GQ when he said, “I can’t really believe it’s the fifth season either. By the time it comes out I will be 22, I think, and I started working on the show at 12.”
Wolfhard turns 22 on Dec. 23, 2024, meaning if Stranger Things doesn’t release its fifth season in the eight days succeeding his birthday, it will officially premiere in 2025.
“That is insane,” he said. “I’ll be able to drink with Gaten and Caleb and Noah and the whole cast at the premiere of Stranger Things 5, which, couldn’t have said the same thing at the season one premiere.”
The mention of Wolfhard’s age calls into question the age of his co-stars as well. Come early 2025, McLaughlin will be 23, Matarazzo will be 22, Schnapp will be 20, Sink will be 22, and Brown will be 20, on the verge of 21. The characters they play on TV, however, will still be in high school.
Although the finer details of season five are up in the air at the moment, the presumption is that this band of nerds will still be in the thick of high school since season four is the first season they began their freshmen year. As a matter of fact, Eleven and crew are meant to be around the age of 14 in season four, which is the age at which most young people begin their freshman year.
Even if season five were to jump ahead one year, that would put the characters at 15 or 16 years old. There would still be a five to six-year age difference compared to their real ages. Sure, we suspended our belief for season four when most of the cast was around 17, 18, or even 19 years old playing 14-year-olds, but the physical maturity that occurs between 18 and 21, or even 22, is some of the most pronounced, as many can attest. Come season five, it’s going to get a lot harder to suspend said belief.
This issue originated in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic caused extended filming delays that ultimately resulted in a three-year gap between seasons three and four. The believability factor the show once had went partially out the window. But only just partially.
Thankfully, as the actors have matured, so too has the show. The ending of season four saw Sink’s character Max bed-bound in the hospital after having her mind terrorized and body broken by Eleven’s arch-nemesis and fellow Rainbow Room sibling, Vecna aka One aka Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower). McLaughlin’s character Lucas held her in his arms as she died, and Eleven witnessed it all before bringing her back to life.
Next season, the group will have to contend with the aftermath. In the brief moment that Max died, all four gates to the Upside Down opened, tearing Hawkins apart (literally) and ripping the fabric of reality wide open. Vecna murdered his four victims, and now there’s nothing stopping him or the monsters of the Upside Down from terrorizing Hawkins; it’s unlikely Vecna is actually dead.
When season five arrives, our once-innocent nerds will have experienced more hardship, strife, and death than most people do their entire lifetime. Their baby fat will have melted away, their limbs will have elongated, and their voices will have matured. When filming finally begins, four out of the six actors will be in their 20s.
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things begin filming in May 2023.
