The trailer for the final season of Stranger Things is hinting at some major character deaths — but who is most at risk?
Netflix debuted the first look on Wednesday, July 16, as Hawkins residents prepare for a final showdown with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), which included an attempt to “burn” down the Upside Down. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) were all seen risking their lives while Max (Sadie Sink) still appeared to be in a coma.
Eleven seems to be most at risk, as she used her telekinetic abilities in the sneak peek. Fans have also been worried that Steve won’t make it after becoming beloved throughout the years. Other contenders for an onscreen death include Max, Jonathan, Hopper and more.
Viewers were introduced to the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, when Stranger Things debuted in 2016. The series focuses on a fictional town where a series of supernatural events cause mystery and mayhem.
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Creators Ross and Matt Duffer confirmed in February 2022 that season 5 would be the show’s last. Any information about the show’s dramatic conclusion has since been kept under wraps, and even newcomers such as Linda Hamilton didn’t spill any details.
“I don’t share, but I’m having a really good time,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2024. “I have friends now that will text me and go, ‘Where are you? Or you can’t say?’ But that’s out of respect and love for the Duffer brothers.”
Hamilton, 68, briefly appeared in the first look and appeared to be with an army working to take down Vecna.
“I’ve watched every season with relish. I just love it,” Hamilton said about her love for the show before being cast. “So it’s kind of, like, imposter syndrome where I don’t [feel that I] fit in there. That’s a whole world set in the ’80s.”
The actress joked that she now won’t be able to look at her favorite show the same way again.
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“When you really buy into something, you don’t see yourself in it. So I think in a way, it kind of ruined the show for me. I never watch [a project], once I’m in something,” Hamilton explained. “It would just completely take me out of the reality of it to see myself in there. So I won’t be watching [season 5].”
Meanwhile, Brett Gelman, who has been with the show since season 1, had a different experience.
“I keep things very tight, very close to the vest. I don’t tell anyone I know anything,” Gelman, 48, explained to Us in July 2024, adding that his loved ones “know not to” ask him what happens on the show ahead of time. “And a lot of people in my personal life don’t want to know. They want to be surprised when it comes out. They don’t want it ruined.”
Stranger Things premieres in three parts, with Volume 1 on November 26, Volume 2 on December 25 and the finale drops December 31 on Netflix.
