Information about the Stranger Things Season 5 plot has been thin for the most part, as Netflix and The Duffer Brothers have sprinkled only a few details about the story for the show’s final season. Fortunately, the 2025 Netflix Tudum event has revealed quite a bit more about what to expect as Vecna and the Upside Down breaks through to the real world. This includes information about a skip forward in the timeline, what’s happened to Hawkins, and new enemies that our heroes will face. Here’s a breakdown of what we know so far about the upcoming Stranger Things 5 story. (Warning! Spoilers for Stranger Things Seasons 1 to 4.)
What we know about the Stranger Things Season 5 story
In general, the Stranger Things Season 5 story will revolve around the heroes attempting to destroy Vecna once and for all, while the town of Hawkins is under a military quarantine due to multiple Rifts opening from the Upside Down.
First off, as noted by the official synopsis of the fifth season from Netflix, the story will begin in the “fall of 1987.” It should be noted that the Season 4 finale ends on Saturday, March 29, 1986, meaning that Season 5 will start roughly one and a half years later. Because Max technically died for a few seconds, which was the final trigger for the last gate to open between Hawkins and the Upside Down, plumes of smoke and spores have descended upon the town. Eleven and her allies watch on a hill of flowers the devastation that has been wrought on their hometown, with the media reporting this as a 7.4-magnitude earthquake and many residents already having fled.
Back in a 2022 interview with Collider, The Duffer Brothers revealed that Stranger Things Season 5 will take place primarily in Hawkins with occasional visit to the Upside Down. That means that we don’t need to worry about Eleven needing to be rescued from a facility in Nevada or Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers having to deal with a gate opening in Russia. Instead, it looks like the kids (now teenagers), the teenagers (now young adults), and the parents will be able to coordinate their plans against Vecna, who was “wounded” at the end of Season 4 after taking several shotgun blasts and molotov cocktails.
The emphasis on Hawkins is part of a larger concept of having the Season 5 plot come “full circle” with Season 1, which is something Matt and Ross Duffer said they wanted to do during a Happy Sad Confused podcast. The group pairings from the original season will be more or less brought together again with Eleven reuniting with the boys (Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin), the older teens joining forces (Steve, Robin, Jonathan, and Nancy), and the parents likely being spearheaded by Joyce and Jim. The relationship between Nancy and Jonathan has not been resolved either, so that will be something that will be explored too. (I’m cautiously optimistic that science teacher and A.V. Club head Scott Clarke will reappear in Season 5.)
The official synopsis discloses that the government responsible for the quarantine are also trying to capture Eleven, which as “forced her back into hiding.” With President Ronald Reagan declaring Hawkins as a federal disaster area, the US military, the Indiana National Guard, and FEMA have been deployed to Hawkins by the end of Season 4. There will likely be more federal agencies involved between then and the beginning of Season 5. The recent date announcement trailer revealed the release schedule and footage of numerous soldiers surrounding a floor tile with a bright red glow glaring beneath it.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Vecna (who has likely healed over the course of a year and a half) is unknown. His plans are also unclear after he was successful in bringing the Upside Down through the four gates. That said, the synopsis says that the anniversary of Will’s disappearance is approaching, creating a sense of dread and referencing his psychic connection to Vecna. The showrunners have said that Will will be “a big part and focus” of Season 5, which is no surprise since if anyone can find Vecna, it will be him.
In addition, the Duffer Brothers promise that some of the mysteries surrounding the Upside Down will finally be unraveled in Season 5. Hopefully, this includes the origin of where this realm comes from, whether Eddie was turned into a monster, and if the three-headed red dragon in Will’s painting will be more than just a drawing.
