Cast of Stranger Things Season 5: Every Star in the Final Season

After nearly a decade, Stranger Things ended its run with Season 5 — released by Netflix in three parts through late 2025, closing the battle between Hawkins and the Upside Down. The final season reunited the entire surviving ensemble and added several significant new faces, including a genuine sci-fi legend. Here's the complete cast of Stranger Things Season 5: every returning actor and character, the new additions, and who wasn't part of the farewell.

Stranger Things Season 5 Cast at a Glance

The Core Party: All Back for the Finale

The heart of the show — the kids who started it all in 2016 — returned in full. Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven faces Vecna in the climactic showdown, while Noah Schnapp's Will Byers finally moves to the center of the story, with his long-teased connection to the Upside Down explored in depth. Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin, carrying the grief of Eddie's death), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Sadie Sink (Max, whose coma after Season 4's finale drives a major storyline) complete the Party one last time.

The Adults and Older Teens

Winona Ryder and David Harbour anchor the season as Joyce and Hopper, now fighting side by side. The fan-favorite duos all return: Joe Keery's Steve and Maya Hawke's Robin, Natalia Dyer's Nancy and Charlie Heaton's Jonathan, plus Priah Ferguson's scene-stealing Erica and Brett Gelman's Murray. Amybeth McNulty's Vickie gets an expanded role in Robin's storyline.

The Villain: Jamie Campbell Bower's Vecna

Jamie Campbell Bower returns as Vecna — Henry Creel, One — the entity behind every horror since Season 1. Season 5 digs further into his origins and his specific connection to Will Byers, cementing him as one of television's great modern villains in the series' endgame.

The New Faces of Season 5

• Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay — the Terminator and sci-fi icon joined the final season, announced at Netflix's Tudum event, playing a formidable government scientist hunting Eleven. Hamilton said she had "watched every season with relish" before signing on.
• Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler — Mike and Nancy's little sister, previously a background child character (played by twins Anniston and Tinsley Price), was recast and aged up into a pivotal Season 5 role tied directly to Vecna's plans.
• Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow — a new Hawkins kid whose dynamic with Holly adds a fresh younger thread to the final season.
• Alex Breaux — joins in a military role as the government's occupation of Hawkins escalates.

Who Didn't Return

Joseph Quinn's beloved Eddie Munson died in Season 4 and stayed gone — despite years of fan campaigns. Eduardo Franco's Argyle was notably absent from the final season's main story, while departed characters such as Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine, killed in Season 4) and Billy (Dacre Montgomery) remain part of the show's past, though the finale leans heavily on the series' full history. One surprise return reported from the season: Linnea Berthelsen as Kali (Eight), Eleven's "sister" from Season 2, closing one of the show's oldest loose threads.

How Season 5 Was Released

Netflix split the farewell into three parts through the 2025 holiday season — Volume 1 in late November, Volume 2 at Christmas, and the extended series finale on New Year's Eve, which also played in select theaters — a first for the series. Created by the Duffer Brothers, the final season was positioned as the biggest production in the show's history.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the Stranger Things Season 5 Cast