The latest update on the progress of Stranger Things’s fifth and final season has drawn a mixed reaction from fans.
Netflix’s hit sci-fi series released its fourth season two years ago, and a final batch of episodes is currently in production.
This week, the streaming service revealed that the forthcoming Stranger Things season five will debut in 2025.
In an earnings call this week, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos mentioned that next year’s line-up will include the new Stranger Things, along with a second season of the hit Addams Family adaptation Wednesday.
Stranger Things stars an ensemble cast including Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, and Winona Ryder, and focuses on the paranormal events surrounding an American town in the 1980s.
On social media, fans shared their reaction to the news of the release window, with some expressing exasperation over the protracted wait for a fifth season.
“Is anyone like dedicated to this show anymore its taken too damn long to come out LOL,” one person wrote.
“Imagine taking nine years to release five seasons,” another complained, while someone else simply asked: “Can this show hurry tf up?”
“Figured this would happen but still damn,” one fan wrote.
Some have speculated that the lengthy production time is a result of the extensive special effects work needed for the new season.
While the majority of stars from previous seasons of Stranger Things will be returning for the new episodes, Eduardo Franco, who appeared in season four as Argyle, won’t be one of them.
The character, a pizza delivery boy, was introduced as the best friend of Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) following the Byers family’s move from Hawkins, Indiana to California.
Despite his character becoming a fan favourite across Stranger Things’s fourth season, Franco was absent from the cast photo released earlier this year, and confirmed in an interview that he would not be returning.
YouTube host Steve Varley asked Franco: “I just want to ask real quick, because it’s on everyone’s mind. You don’t have to answer this, but fans kind of went to a panic with the cast photo of day one of Stranger Things season five.
“Now they’re thinking you’re not in the season. Can you give us hopes that you are? And can you say anything if not?”
Franco replied: “It’s nice to hear that there’s some sort of, you know, concern or something, you know what I mean? But I’ve never, I never got a phone call. So yeah, I think that’s it.”
An exact release date for the series is still yet to be announced.