‘Stranger Things’ stars burst into tears when the final season was announced

Stranger Things owes a great deal of its success to the powerful chemistry of its young cast, and it’s clear that they’ve been enjoying their time on the show, even when the cameras stop rolling. Take Noah Schnapp, for instance, who recently appeared on Jimmy Fallon and talked about how he took the news of the show ending with a fifth outing.

They recently posted this letter that they wrote, which I never saw until they posted because they don’t really tell us anything, because they know I’m always spoiling stuff. So they put out this letter, and it’s like, ‘The show’s ending — that’s it. This is the beginning of the end.’ And I read it, and I was just bawling. I was so upset.

The actor behind Will Byers wasn’t the only one to break down, he shared that sentiment with the rest of his friends.

And I texted Millie [Bobby Brown], my castmate who plays Eleven, and she was like, ‘You’re crying, too? So am I.’ And then she texted Gaten [Matarazzo], who also plays Dustin. He’s like, ‘I’m crying, too.’ And then we all texted the Duffers and were like, ‘This is so sad. I can’t believe this is over.’ And they’re like, ‘You guys gotta stop texting us. I know it’s over, but we have time left.’

Given how Stranger Things served as their breakthrough role, the cast must be having a hard time coming to terms with this so-called “beginning of the end.” All’s not lost, though, and the crew still have a lot to look forward to, including the upcoming season four, which, according to the Duffer Brothers, will be twice as long as the previous outings.

Adding that to the fifth and final season, which could also have an extended runtime, Noah, Millie, Gaten, Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), and Finn Wolfhard (Mike) will be riding on this wave for at least another 20 episodes. That being said, fans should gear up for the narrative’s final arc, as the showrunners have made it perfectly clear that season four will be the penultimate chapter.

Stranger Things season four, volume one is coming to Netflix on May 27. Volume two is slated for release on July 1.