Stranger Things star says the scale of season 5 is much bigger, and teases the main group will be together a lot more

Stranger Things
(Image credit: Netflix)

Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard says season 5 is huge – and that the series will return to those season 1 dynamics where the core cast was together all the time.

"This last season is sort of a crossroads, and so we’re getting back into a lot of the dynamics of season one, which is really fun," Wolfhard told The Hollywood Reporter. "There’s some ‘leader Mike’ moments, and it’s a very grand season, obviously. Every season has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger, and this season is huge, but it’s also kind of isolated as well."

Wolfhard was split from most of the main cast in season 4, with two different plot lines happening in two different states as a result of Mike traveling to California to visit Will and Eleven – before getting trapped there with Jonathan and Argyle.

"We really didn’t shoot very much for the first few months of production [on season 4], because they were so focused on all the Hawkins stuff. So I was really jealous,” Wolfhard continued. “Even when I finally watched the show, my favorite part was watching the other guys in Hawkins. I just liked that storyline so much. So, yeah, not being around everyone all the time was definitely a bummer about filming 4, but 5 is the opposite. We’re all together all the time.”

Stranger Things season 4 ended with Hawkins in a state of disarray, as Vecna managed to open the four gates – despite being temporarily defeated by Eleven. Season 5 began filming in January 2024, after production was halted by both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Stranger Things season 5 does not yet have a release date. While you wait, check out our list of 19 shows that will turn your world upside down, or, check out our list of 13 horror movies to watch after Stranger Things season 4.

Lauren Milici
Senior Writer, Tv & Film

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.