The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is on the way, and it’s really hard to comprehend the fact that there won’t be more after this. It turns out, the cast is also coping with this realization too, and they’ve been quite open about how they’re feeling. While this cast loves the show, and they have become uber-successful because of it, many of them are also ready to move on to other projects. And like a lot of the fans' feelings about the finale, they all seem to have those bittersweet emotions about one of Netflix’s best shows. With that said, here is what David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown and the cast of the Duffer Brothers' smash hit have to say about their series ending with Season 5.
David Harbour
David Harbour has seen some scripts for Season 5, and he’s very excited about the upcoming season. While we all have questions about how Vecna and those pesky demogorgons will impact the series and its end, the actor is aware of how the show is going to finish, and he calls it “moving.” While on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the man behind Hopper said:
I’m excited to go back. I’m excited to wrap it up in a bold, amazing way. I’m excited to really swing with this character, because you know they’re going to pay off these OG characters: Eleven, Hopper, Joyce, Will, Mike. They’re going to pay them off in big ways because they’ve lived with you for the past eight years.
Along with these comments, now that the writers’ and actors’ strikes are over, the cast and crew can get back to work. And the Harbour confirmed that they are wasting no time getting Stranger Things Season 5 into production.
Millie Bobby Brown
While she loves the show deeply, Millie Bobby Brown is ready for Stranger Things to end. During a conversation with Seventeen, the Eleven actress spoke about the end of this era, saying:
I'm definitely ready to wrap up. I feel like there's a lot of the story that's been told now, and we know of it, it's been in our lives for a very long time. But I'm very ready to say goodbye to this chapter of my life and open new ones up. I'm able to create stories myself that are important to me and focus on the bigger picture. But I'm really grateful [for the show].
It makes sense that she’s ready to move forward. Between Enola Holmes 3 being in development and her other projects like Damsel, she’s a busy gal. Overall, she’s been clear about her excitement for the other work she’s pursuing along with Stranger Things.
Finn Wolfhard
While Finn Wolfhard isn’t ready to say goodbye to Mike, he’s very excited to see what happens next. While speaking to Uproxx, the actor shared his thoughts on saying so-long to Hawkins, explaining:
Not ready but I'm just really excited to start working on it because after I finished watching season four, I just was like, ‘Damn, let's just go back and film now.’ I just want to help finish it off, but not in a way of I want to be done with it. It's just like I want to know what happens. I'm definitely sad about it, but also, I know that it's the next kind of chapter of everyone's life that needs to happen.
However, while he doesn’t want the show to end, he also knows it’s the right time. He went on to say that if the series continued past Season 5 it would “be ridiculous.” With all that said, he noted that he’s positive the Duffers have figured out “a perfect ending,” and he hopes that it will be “satisfying for fans.”
Caleb McLaughlin
Along with joking about what he’d like to see from Lucas in the final season of Stranger Things (it’s him playing more basketball), Caleb McLaughlin has also shared his candid thoughts on the series ending. As he reflected on growing up on the show, he told Collider:
I’m looking forward to just, of course, seeing the cast again and getting back together. I grew up on the show, and when I see them, I feel like I’m my 13-year-old self again, having fun on set, being naive, and just living in this fun world. And then, the thing that I’m dreading is that this will be the last one. Stranger Things has been a big part of my life. Even if I hated being on the show, I would miss it because I was such a kid, when I first came onto the show, and I grew up on the show through my adolescent years. I’m an adult now. I’m 21. So, it was a big part of my life. I grew up on the show, so it’s gonna be sad when it’s all over.
His comments are so sweet, and it turns out the majority of the original cast feels this way about the show ending.
Noah Schnapp
Noah Schnapp was 10 when he started working on Stranger Things, and like all the kids, he’s literally grown up on this show. Thinking about that fact, the Will actor reflected on the end, and how he’ll feel when the final “cut” is called, telling Collider:
Then for me, I mean, just wrapping Stranger Things, so bittersweet. I mean, it was obviously kind of what made me, I guess, as an actor, and I've grown up on the show. I first started on it when I was 10, and now I'm like an adult, so it's crazy. But, I'm really excited to get shooting. The last season looks really good, and when it's over, I'm definitely gonna be crying and upset, but excited for what the future holds.
Over the years, we’ve seen both Will and Schnapp grow so much, and we can’t wait to see how they evolve during Season 5.
Gaten Matarazzo
Gaten Matarazzo, who plays the beloved Dustin, spoke eloquently about the show coming to a close when he appeared on The Tonight Show in March. Speaking to Jimmy Fallon, the young actor explained:
There's an excitement there because you always want to wrap it up and see how these characters are finally going to develop one last time and how they're going to finish their journeys. But also, there's like a deep fear of—not only has it been amazing, but it's been pretty great job security for a while.
I totally get where Matarazzo is coming from. The Stranger Things cast makes a lot of money, and this show has provided a lot of stability for them throughout the years. Moving forward must be a bit scary.
He also said that while he doesn’t know how Dustin’s story will end, he trusts the Duffer brothers completely. Speaking about how he’d like to see the show wrap up, he said:
I’d love to see a good launch pad for growth. And I’d love to see these characters thrive and move on from the trauma they’ve endured over the past few years.
I hope that Dustin and the crew get this kind of ending too; they deserve it!
Sadie Sink
Considering Max’s state at the end of Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 2, it’s unclear what kind of role Sadie Sink will play in the upcoming episodes. However, according to a statement she made on Today, even though she has “no idea what is going to happen,” she’ll “be there.” Continuing to speak about the show, the actress said:
It’s going to be awful. It's going to be horrible. These kids, this entire cast and crew, this is like — I mean, it’s family. People say it all the time, but I genuinely mean it. And to think that we have to kind of say goodbye to that security and knowing that we won’t be seeing each other for another season, it’s scary and sad, but I think it’s exciting to move on to the next chapter.
While Max wasn't introduced until Season 2, she quickly became an essential part of the family. And like Sink, I think we’ll all be sad to say goodbye to her and the Stranger Things family.
Joe Keery
Like most of this cast, Joe Keery, who plays the adored Steve Harrington, sees this as a bittersweet situation. While he’s ready to move forward, it’s also sad to say goodbye to a show that made such a big impact on his life. He told WWD:
It does feel like it’s time. It won’t be easy for it to end. I mean, I owe my whole career to being on that show and all the opportunities that I had since are because of that show. So it’s very convoluted. There’s a sense of relief, there’s a sense of sadness. I guess my goal is to just really soak it up as much as I can while we’re doing it, and not take any of it for granted because it’s been an amazing ride with such great people. And then once it’s done, move forward and try to just hold on to the joy that we had when we were making it….Everything has a beginning and the middle and an end. It’ll be nice to have the end of this too.
Overall, Keery’s comments seem to sum up the general consensus among the cast. There’s no question that Stranger Things is special, and it’s had an immensely positive impact on this cast and pop culture as a whole. However, all good things must come to an end, and why not go out on top?
Now that the actors’ strike is over, Stranger Things Season 5 should get going, and hopefully, it will hit Netflix in the next year or two. We here at CinemaBlend will be sure to keep you posted on everything regarding the final season of this gargantuan hit -- from the actors’ sweet comments about it coming to a close to the wild theories surrounding the folks of Hawkins and the Upsidedown. In the meantime, you can mentally prepare for the final season by streaming the legendary show with a Netflix subscription.
