We're only a few short weeks away from the next round of Stranger Things Season 5 episodes premiering on Netflix. Today, the spotlight is put on nine of the show's young leads as they ready themselves for a final stand against Vecna.
The first volume of this final season was light on major character deaths, but will everyone you'll see on the posters below make it out of this one alive? Fans of the show will certainly hope so, but the stakes will be high.
When we last visited the world of Stranger Things, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) ambushes the heroes, prompting Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) to take control of the Demogorgons and Vecna’s mind and free his friends from the monster’s murderous grip.
"We’ve always known that Will has a connection to Vecna and the Upside Down," Ross Duffer recently said. "In Season 2, we started to delve into it, but one of the earliest ideas in the new season is, 'What if Will were able to harness this connection and use it against our villains?'"
"We also felt it very natural to recenter the story on Will. He was the kid who was taken in Season 1, so it felt right for the story to come full circle. If anyone’s going to be the key to ending Vecna, it needed to be Will," he added.
Matt Duffer noted, "We were more interested in exploring how he develops these powers, and how does that tie into his character? And there is a lot that Will has been dealing with over the course of the four seasons prior to this — so many emotions and inner conflicts that remain unresolved."
"So we wanted him to grow as a human and become a fully formed version of who he is, to truly accept who he is. And once he’s able to do that, he’s able to harness these incredible powers."
Which of these posters for Stranger Things Season 5 is your favourite?
Fall 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding.
As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.
Created by The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is produced by Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment with The Duffer Brothers serving as executive producers, alongside Shawn Levy of 21 Laps Entertainment and Dan Cohen.
The cast includes Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay).
Stranger Things Season 5 is being released in three parts. The first volume arrived on November 26, with the second set to follow on December 25. The feature-length finale drops on December 31.