As viewers prepare for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced that the Upside Down might not be closing its gates yet.
In February 2022, the writing team reflected on the future of Stranger Things in an open letter to the fans.
“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things,” they stated via the show’s official social media platforms. “At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four but — as you’ll see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; season 5 will be the last.”
The executive producers revealed that there were plans to further explore the Stranger Things universe. “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes,” the message concluded. “But first, we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternate dimension known only as the Upside Down.”
The science fiction series originally debuted on Netflix in 2016. Viewers were captivated by the mysterious town of Hawkins, Indiana, and the monsters that were unleashed after another world was opened in season 1. Through the years, fans watched their favorite characters fall in love, grow up and continue to come together to fight the evil from the Upside Down.
Ahead of the show’s season 4 premiere, director Shawn Levy teased the highly anticipated conclusion for the hit series.
“No one is winging it. Honestly, I think that the Duffer brothers have [an idea of how the show end] and they have teased it for me over the past six and a half years. But they keep things very private amongst themselves until it is fully formed,” Levy exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2022. “Then they bring it to me and then we take the next steps. It is very, very clear now and it became clear for a while now that we have one season more that feels worth it and reliably amazing.”
At the time, Levy pointed out that the creators and producers behind Stranger Things wanted to wrap up its story lines in an organic way. “We don’t want to be one of those shows that outstays its welcome and is flailing while it searches for a way to stick the landing,” he added. “We really want to stick the landing. I feel like we have been able to do that every season and we also want to do it for the series.”
Scroll down for everything we know about the Stranger Things spinoff: