The final season of Stranger Things is on the way, although the long wait since Season 4 isn't going to end any time soon. That said, production has started on Stranger Things Season 5 with actors on set to reprise their beloved roles in at least one more set of episodes, and some new behind-the-scenes photos from co-creator Ross Duffer may have revealed the size of the time jump that would make perfect sense and explain a whole lot.
A time jump after from the Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 2 ending to the start of Season 5 seemed inevitable despite the pretty urgent cliffhanger, as the delays due to the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike meant a long hiatus... and the young actors getting visibly older. Check out the new photos and see if you can spot what seemingly shows the size of the time jump!
While it's great to see Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin back on set together, Ross Duffer confirmed in the comments that it's a pic of Sink as the comatose Max rather than an awake and fully recovered Max. The shot that catches my eye about the possible size of the time jump is the next one in the set, that appears to be Lucas holding Max's hand.
If you zoom in closely – which I, as a Stranger Things fan dying for new content naturally did – the date on the watch says Thursday, 11-2, presumably meaning Thursday, November 2. And if you consult a calendar for the '80s, you'll find that the only November 2 to fall on a Thursday was in 1989. It looks like we're in for a time jump of over three and a half years and possibly some new Stranger Things filming locations, if we go by the watch!
For what it's worth, that also means that it's 2:12 for Lucas, which doesn't seem like much, but I'm not one to dismiss any numbers when it comes to a show as detailed as Stranger Things... with a key character named Eleven, no less! Given that Season 4 wrapped in March of 1986, this would be a jump of about three years and eight months that would really help account for the younger cast members' real-life aging.
The main party of kids – Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Will, and then Max after Season 2 – would have been around 14-15 during the fourth season as high school freshmen; this would place them around high school senior age, if high school is somehow still an option after the apocalyptic end of Season 4 and unanswered questions about who Vecna is beyond the backstory so far.
Even though there were real-life approaches to aging down the actors to appear in their early teens – including what the Stranger Things costume designer explained to CinemaBlend – it's hard to ignore how much older the young cast members are looking, particularly after the recent photos from Millie Bobby Brown's 20th birthday celebration. Plus, it would be fun for the final season to be set in November, since that's when the majority of Season 1 and Season 2 were set early in the '80s.
Now, am I reaching to assume that Ross Duffer revealed the size of the time jump by posting a pic of Lucas seemingly holding Max's hand? Perhaps, but a shot of just their hands with his watch so prominently displayed makes me think that the Thursday, November 2 date really does point to a jump to 1989. Besides, I highly doubt that Duffer posted a pic from all the way back November of Caleb McLaughlin wearing what appears to be the '80s-era version of the Casio G-SHOCK watch by pure chance.
The production team is also aware of fan interest in this topic, as executive producer Shawn Levy weighed in on aging concerns about the young actors, and then had to clarify what he meant. Is it still possible that I'm reading too much into this? Sure, but I think there are more clues in favor of the theory than against it. The shot of the watch seems deliberate from Ross Duffer, a three-year time jump makes sense for the plot and actors' ages, and a timing for early November is a callback to the first two seasons, which are arguably the best and most beloved by fans with Demogorgons in Hawkins. It's surely way too early for November 2 to be a clue about a release date or even trailer debut.
For now, we can hope that the Duffer Brothers or anybody else from the Stranger Things team confirms the length of the time jump (and/or if Eddie Munson is really dead). We can also rewatch the first four seasons of the show streaming with a Netflix subscription and find some other options on the 2024 TV schedule as the wait for the fifth and final season continues.
