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A new Stranger Things release is confirmed for next month, and it can completely bring to a close an era of the Netflix show. Stranger Things‘ ending on New Year’s Eve 2025 brought the series to a conclusion in divisive fashion. Things like Eleven’s ambiguous fate and the defeat of Vecna split the audience in terms of opinion, becoming one of many huge genre shows that wasn’t able to stick the landing in a way that pleased everyone (for what it’s worth, I thought it was a solid series finale that at least nailed the emotional beats).
After the finale, there was still more to come from Season 5. There was a behind-the-scenes documentary that went into the making of it, with some comments from the Duffer Brothers that only added to the outrage regarding things like plot holes, and there was the infamous Conformity Gate theory. That claimed a secret final episode was going to be released, and gained a surprising amount of traction at the time. Fast forward several months, and we’re now going to get Stranger Things: The Complete Scripts, Season 5, which releases on July 14th and features all the collected scripts, accompanied by an intro from the Duffers.
If the door of the Stranger Things Season 5 era had been left open three inches, this will shut it permanently. The reveal of the finished scripts obviously won’t be the same as an episode of TV, but it should provide new, deeper insights into some of the storylines and character moments, since we should get to see certain story/character notes and directions and perhaps some added context for specific moments. And, presumably, it will also revive some fan debates and complaints, one last time.
That actually happened with the Game of Thrones series finale as well – the script was released online for Emmys consideration, and revealed things like Drogon burning the Iron Throne not being deliberate, which went down as well as you’d expect. It remains to be seen if there’ll be any similar revelations here that either add to our understanding, or simply add to the ire.
A Stranger Things Era Is Over, But The Franchise Is Far From It
Exactly what Stranger Things‘ legacy is is still to be determined in the long run. The response to the finale, and some of the other Season 5 episodes, certainly soured that, and the huge gaps between seasons may not have hurt viewership, but did add to frustrations. At the same time, there’s a lot of good in the fifth season – for instance, Episode 4, “Sorcerer,” is among the show’s best. And it definitely should not negatively impact how the show as a whole is remembered, since it was one of the biggest, buzziest, and, at its peak, best shows we’ve had over the last decade.
As much as this release really serve to draw a line under Stranger Things‘ final season, there is still life in the franchise. Firstly, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Season 2 will release on Netflix later this year. The animated series is set between Seasons 2 and 3, following the Hawkins gang on a new adventure against Upside Down monsters. Even though it features the same main characters, it feels of a different era, with its tone more cartoony and fun than the darker epic the show increasingly became.
There are also plans for another, very secretive spinoff. This will feature a brand-new cast and focus on new characters – it won’t be The Next Generation featuring Holly Wheeler or something like that – but it will have connections. Most intriguinly, it was teased that the rock in the briefcase found by Henry Creel in the finale will be key to the new Stranger Things spinoff, with Matt Duffer saying:
“The spinoff is going to delve into that and explain that, and you’re going to understand it. But it’s a completely different mythology. So it’s not a deep exploration of the Mind Flayer or anything like that. It’s very fresh and very new, but yes, it will answer some of the loose threads that are remaining.”
It will be interesting to see how much appetite there is for that after Stranger Things Season 5, because some viewers inevitably won’t come back, but I think a lot would for a new live-action series that is distinct from the original show. Certainly, Netflix has to try, because it’s one of its biggest shows ever, and as such has to be turned into a bigger franchise. There is, however, very little in terms of updates on when that will come together, and there’s clearly no rush. After the finale, that’s probably for the best.
Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.
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Stranger Things Season 5 Sets Up 4 Spinoffs
