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Stranger Things 5

Gretchen Fullido

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764071885465588901165_2277211119412392_3953920389931293101_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Netflix</div>TOKYO -- The long wait is finally over. After nearly a decade of monsters, friendship, and growing up in Hawkins, the global phenomenon &quot;Stranger Things&quot; returns for its most emotional and terrifying ride yet.In Tokyo, Japan where Netflix gathered the cast and creators for an international press tour, ABS-CBN News got the chance to chat with the stars and showrunners to talk about the long-awaited fifth and final season -- a chapter they promise will break hearts and redefine the meaning of &quot;epic.&quot;Season 5 picks up in the fall of 1987. Hawkins lies scarred by the opening of the Rifts, the government has placed the town under military quarantine, and Eleven is once again in hiding. The mission is clear: find and kill Vecna before darkness consumes them all.Created by Matt and Ross Duffer and produced by Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, the series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Jamie Campbell Bower, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, Amybeth McNulty, Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, Alex Breaux, and Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay.According to Netflix, &quot;Stranger Things 5&quot; will roll out in three waves: Volume 1 on November 26, Volume 2 on December 25,and The Finale on December 31The Duffer brothers were both proud and nostalgic, like storytellers saying goodbye to their magnum opus. “This was by far the hardest season to shoot,” Ross admitted. “The stakes have never been higher for our characters, for the town of Hawkins. But like typical &#x27;Stranger Things,&#x27; no matter how dark things get, they always have each other. There’s always hope.”Matt added: “The last day on set, saying goodbye to our cast, was one of the most emotional days of our lives. Many of our crew have been with us since day one. It feels like a family parting ways. But we’re also excited to tell new stories, to move into a new stage of our careers.”He laughed when I asked if they’d always known they were making a global hit. “We’d only ever known rejection and failure. We pitched &#x27;Stranger Things&#x27; everywhere and got rejected again and again until Netflix said yes. It was a miracle. We were just grateful we got to make the show at all,” Matt said.A decade later, the “miracle kids” are global stars and still as tight as ever. When I asked Wolfhard, McLaughlin, Matarazzo, and Schnapp about watching their early auditions and season one, laughter filled the room. Wolfhard: “We laugh.” McLaughlin: “Emotional… you cry…” Wolfhard: “Throw up.” Schnapp: “Scream.”   Wolfhard: “It’s cringy!”   Schnapp: “Season 3 is a tough watch… it’s our peak puberty!”   Matarazzo: “Our shorts were way too high.”   Wolfhard: “We were all legs that season.&quot;   McLaughlin: “Oh God.” Wolfhard: “When I’m 40, I’ll force my kids to watch.”The jokes melted into something tender. “It’s rare to have your childhood documented like that and rarer that it mattered to so many,” Matarazzo said.When asked to compare facing bullies in school, army soldiers to the underworld creatures and Vecna, McLaughlin said: “The everyday bully and the monstrous bully are basically the same thing. We were the misfits, the outcasts but we showed we’re heroes, too. The Duffers are brilliant at telling stories that make people who feel unseen finally feel seen.”And Wolfhard reflected, “I hope people keep watching &#x27;Stranger Things&#x27; 20 or 30 years from now. That parents show it to their kids, and new generations still connect. It’s cool knowing something we made means that much to people.”For Millie Bobby Brown, &quot;Stranger Things&quot; wasn’t just a role, it was the launchpad of a life she never could’ve imagined. “The Philippines was one of the first countries I visited when the show began,” she recalled warmly. “I was so young and the fans were incredible. That trip showed me how global this love for &#x27;Stranger Things&#x27; already was.”She was only 10 when she shaved her head to play Eleven. A decade later, she’s a powerhouse, an actor, producer, entrepreneur, and now a new wife and mother.“We thought we were just filming some small TV show,” Brown laughed. “It launched my career, taught me collaboration and leadership. I learned how to be a professional, how to be a producer. It changed my life in every way.”Yet the role of Eleven remains close to her heart. “She’s so layered. She feels everything so deeply because of how she was raised. This season was the most physically demanding. Anytime I feel tired or overwhelmed, I remember how badly I wanted this role ten years ago.”When I told her I couldn’t sleep after watching Vecna in Season 4, Brown smiled. “From what I’ve seen, Season 5 is definitely the scariest.”Schnapp, who began as the quiet boy trapped in the Upside Down, grew up alongside his character. “It’s honestly surreal,” he said. “We’ve been waiting just as long as the fans. To finally share this with the world, we’re so excited.”He smiled as he remembered the people who became his family. “The cast, the crew they formed our childhood and who we are today. Saying goodbye was definitely the hardest.”And of the Filipino fans who’ve supported them since day one, he added, “We love you guys so much. Thank you for everything. Mahal kita.”If the kids represent light, Jamie Campbell Bower embodies its darkness. His portrayal of Vecna was equal parts art and endurance. “The makeup takes four to eight hours,” he said. “The voice came from Doug Bradley’s Pinhead. As a singer, it’s about relaxing, opening the larynx, letting the diaphragm do the work then attaching the emotion to it. It took a minute to find it.”When I asked him to greet Filipino fans in Vecna’s voice, he laughed. “Absolutely not. Go on, Sadie’s going to do it.” Beside him, Sadie Sink volunteered and did her own version of Vecna’s voice. They both burst into laughter.“These have been the most formative years of my life. I grew up with Max from the awkward teenage years to adulthood. Playing her taught me so much about myself. Saying goodbye is hard,” Sink added.Bower nodded. “As artists, we’re always evolving. This experience reminded me to be open, to say yes, to learn. The Duffers trusted us completely. That love bleeds into everything you see on screen.”As &quot;Stranger Things 5&quot; approaches, Hawkins is on the brink of its final battle. Eleven is hunted. Vecna is waiting. The Rifts widen.And for one last time, the full party Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Eleven will stand together against the dark.For the Duffer brothers, this is both a farewell and a promise. “Our last day on set was one of the hardest days of our lives,” Matt said.Matt shared that this isn’t totally the end for &quot;Stranger Things.&quot; “But it’s also exciting to move on to new things. We do have a &#x27;Stranger Things&#x27; spinoff that we’re actively developing. It doesn’t involve the current characters or Hawkins, but it has the same heart and DNA and new mythology. It’s new, different, and very &#x27;Stranger Things.&#x27;”Ross added, smiling, “We can’t wait for fans to see how it all ends and how something new begins.” Because while this final battle may close the door to Hawkins, it opens another into a whole new world of the Upside Down -- proof that in the universe of &quot;Stranger Things,&quot; the magic never really ends.

As 'Stranger Things' enters its last stand, the stars and creators open up about the friendships, fears, and unforgettable memories that shaped a generation. Season 5 marks the end of Hawkins — and the beginning of something new.

As ' Stranger Things' enters its last stand, the stars and creators open up about the friendships, fears, and unforgettable memories that shaped a generation. Season 5 marks the end of Hawkins — and the beginning of something new.

The end begins: ‘Stranger Things’ enters its epic final chapter

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The end begins: ‘Stranger Things’ enters its epic final chapter

Gretchen Fullido,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 25, 2025 08:02 PM PHT

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