Now that the “Stranger Things” writers are hard at work on season five, small bits of intel are finally trickling in from Hawkins. The latest of which is that the show’s final season is unlikely to introduce any major new characters. In a recent interview with IndieWire, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed their goal is to keep season five’s focus firmly on the existing cast.
“We’re doing our best to resist [adding new characters] for Season 5,” Matt said. “We’re trying not to do that so we can focus on the OG characters, I guess.”
The Duffers admitted it’s hard not to add more characters to the world of Hawkins in the final stretch. After all, “Stranger Things” has only become richer thanks to the addition of characters like Max (Sadie Sink), Robin (Maya Hawke), and Eddie (Joseph Quinn). But at this stage, the brothers are all too aware that they have limited screen time available to wrap up the story.
“Whenever we introduce a new character, we want to make sure that they’re going to be an integral part of the narrative,” Ross explained. “But every time we do that, we’re nervous, because you go, ‘We’ve got a great cast of characters here, and actors, and any moment we’re spending with a new character, we’re taking time away from one of the other actors.’ So we’re just very, very careful about who we’re introducing.”
Aside from revealing that season five will focus on the original cast, the creative team are keeping their plans top secret. But there’s still a few nuggets of information that have been announced. For starters, the “Stranger Things” writers have already begun working on season five, the series confirmed in a tweet captioned, “Day 1,” on Aug. 2. Additionally, the season four finale definitely looks toward a final season that will have more chaos, more drama, and more monsters than ever before. As we wait for more news about the show’s ending — and spinoff — take a look at what we know so far about “Stranger Things” season five, including the plot, cast, and release date.
— Additional reporting by Pallavi Bhadu and Victoria Edel