It’s pretty crazy to think, years after its absolutely massive debut, “Stranger Things” is still near the top of the TV cultural zeitgeist. This is a show, no matter how long it gets delayed and even if some seasons are worse than others, that just continues to dominate. But, as we all know, Season 5 is coming, and thus, the end of Netflix’s biggest hit. And in a new interview, the creators of the series tease not only that Season 5 will big absolutely huge in scale, but it also will serve as the definitive end to some of your favorite characters. 
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Speaking to The Guardian, as they promote the upcoming “Stranger Things” stage play (yep, that’s a real thing), the Duffer Brothers—Matt and Ross—talked about the upcoming final season of the series, which is expected to begin production next month. While they admit that spinoffs are probably going to happen (was this ever a doubt?), don’t go thinking your favorites will continue to show up on screen after the final credits roll. 
“This season – it’s like season one on steroids,” teased Matt Duffer. “It’s the biggest it’s ever been in terms of scale, but it has been really fun, because everyone’s back together in Hawkins: the boys and Eleven interacting more in line with how it was in season one. And, yes, there may be spin-offs, but the story of Eleven and Dustin and Lucas and Hopper, their stories are done here. That’s it…”
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The idea that Season 5 would be bigger in scale than Season 1 is not all that shocking. Each season of “Stranger Things” seems to up the ante in terms of scale. Hell, Season 4 includes multiple episodes that are true feature-length. So, nearly everyone just assumed Season 5 would continue that trend. We all know Netflix wants as much of that “Stranger Things” goodness that can be squeezed out. 
But it’s interesting that the Duffers are already confirming that Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, and Hopper will all see their stories effectively end in Season 5. Sure, Millie Bobby Brown has teased that she wants to be done with the show, and David Harbour is a very busy man right now with his Marvel commitments. But fans of those characters have been theorizing whether we might see them in their own spinoffs down the line. Well, apparently, no, that’s not going to happen. 
That does sort of beg the question—what spinoffs are on the table, then? Sure, we know the prequel story of a young Hopper and folks is being explored in the stage play. But would we maybe have “Stranger Things: The Next Generation,” where we follow the children of our current cast in a 2000s era story? We’ll just have to wait and see what ideas the Duffers and Netflix have up their sleeves.