5 updates you missed about the final season of Stranger Things

The highly-anticipated fifth and final season of Stranger Things still hasn't been released yet, but fans are dying to know more about what to expect from the final romp through Hawkins, Indiana. Unfortunately, we still haven't gotten any official trailers or an indication of when the last eight episodes will drop, but we're getting closer.

For those who haven't been paying attention to every drop of news related to the hit Netflix show, we've compiled a list of some of the most notable updates we've received about Stranger Things season 5 so far.

Filming has wrapped on season 5

Filming officially wrapped in December 2024. So why haven't we gotten a release date yet? A show like this takes a long time to edit and add VFX. For now, it is still on track to be released later this year.

On December 20, co-creator Ross Duffer shared the above Instagram post announcing the series had wrapped, noting how bittersweet the ending experience was as the cast spent their final moments on set together. Duffer pointed out that for most of the cast, especially the younger stars like Millie Bobby Brown, this show defined a significant part of their childhood. They grew up on set, and now that chapter has concluded.

Eleven is missing in mysterious teaser poster

Netflix shared a teaser poster for the upcoming season that shows a flyer for "Jane Hopper," who we know is actually Eleven. The poster offers a reward for anyone with information on Jane and her location, with many fans theorizing the military could be searching for her.

Those who called the number were greeted with an interesting voice message from the Hawkins Police Department, claiming they were looking for Jane and other missing persons declared during the earthquake and subsequent lockdown.

Argyle will not be returning for season 5

Even though Eduardo Franco was a fun addition to the season 4 cast, the actor will not be returning for the fifth season. As the storyline shifts back to Hawkins, it does make sense that a character residing full-time in California wouldn't be in the main story anymore, especially since the fifth season is focusing more on its original characters. Still, Argyle was hilarious and a great friend for Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), so it is disappointing that we won't get to see anymore of their hijinks together.

Season 5 episode titles

The episodes have been revealed for the eight-episode final season, and they are as follows:

• Episode 1: "The Crawl"
• Episode 2: "The Vanishing of..."
• Episode 3: "The Turnbow Trap"
• Episode 4: "Sorcerer"
• Episode 5: "Shock Jock"
• Episode 6: "Escape from Camazotz"
• Episode 7: "The Bridge"
• Episode 8: The Rightside Up"

For episode 2, the latter half of the title has been redacted, though many online sleuths suspect it says "The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler." Holly's disappearance has been foreshadowed by the season 4 finale and leaked set photos showing Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower—seemingly in his human form again—with Nell Fisher, who is believed to be the new actress cast to play Holly for an expanded season 5 arc. Fisher's role hasn't been confirmed, but it would make sense for her to be playing the youngest Wheeler sibling.

The show's cast and writers have said the fifth season will echo the first in many ways, so having a kid go missing would be an interesting way to callback to Will's initial disappearance.

Additionally, the writers shared the opening lines of the season 5 premiere script on X (formerly Twitter) during last year's Stranger Things Day. It's not much, but it certainly sets an eerie tone.

The final days on set were emotional

As mentioned above, the cast has worked together on this show for almost a decade. They've bonded and shared plenty of time with one another, so, understandably, the final days on set were plenty emotional.

Growing up on camera wasn't easy for Brown, who leaned on her co-stars for support. She shared that the final day on set brought her to tears. Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington, echoed her sentiments, expressing how "emotional" things became between everyone when they wrapped their final scenes.