New promotional materials confirm that Stranger Things 5 will skip forward in time from the end of Season 4. The ending of the fourth season of Netflix's hit sci-fi show saw a rift opened between the Upside Down and Hawkins, leading to all manner of interdimensional creatures pouring upon the citizens of the small town. Season 5 of Stranger Things will be the last in the series, and the massive finale is seemingly beginning with a big time jump.
New marketing materials for a partnership between Stranger Things and Valda Friends candy (shared on X) have given a proper look at Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Hopper (David Harbour) in the new season.
Hopper, in particular, is sporting a new look, and is depicted wearing a baseball cap with longer hair and a beard.
This appearance is in stark contrast to how audiences last saw Hopper, who in Season 4 escaped a Russian prison where he had been starved and shaved bald. He kept this appearance up until the final scene of Stranger Things 4, when he and Joyce (Winona Ryder) return to Hawkins and reunite with their children.
Hopper's new bearded look confirms that a significant enough amount of time has passed to allow his facial hair to grow to this length, suggesting a decent time jump between the end of Season 4 and Season 5's beginning. Additionally, Eleven's new appearance in the promo confirms her hair has grown back to full length since Season 4, where it was given a buzzcut, harkening back to her look in Season 1.
These new appearances only support what has been confirmed in other reports regarding Stranger Things 5, with Netflix revealing in a synopsis that Season 5 takes place in the fall of 1987. This is around 1.5 years after the ending of Season 4, which took place in the spring of 1986. This almost 18-month gap between appearances allows plenty of flexibility for each of the Stranger Things' character's looks as all their characters will have aged during this period.
Stranger Things 5 is created and directed by the Duffer Brothers for Netflix and is the finale of the series which first aired in 2016. Some of the series' stars are Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder, Sadie Sink and Joe Keery. Stranger Things 5 will be split into three parts for release, with the first arriving on November 26, 2025.
What Happens During Stranger Things 5's Time Jump?
Stranger Things is no stranger to time jumps, with a ten month gap occurring between Seasons 1 and 2. However, Stranger Things 5's time skip will be the longest in the franchise to date.
Rather than dealing with the immediate fallout of the portal between the Upside Down and Hawkins, it seems the show will skip ahead and take place after this new threat has been well established in Hawkins. The first teasers for the new season have shown how Hawkins has dealt with this new danger, with armed forces now firmly implanted in the city, and barricades cordoning off the town.
While all this is going on, Stranger Things' main group of heroes also seem to be making their own attempts to stop the forces of the Upside Down (with one character particularly obsessed with finding Vecna).
This passing of time has also impacted some of the other main characters, including Sadie Sink's Max, who was last seen in a coma in Season 4, and appears to not have healed despite this large time jump.
Stranger Things 5 will have eight episodes across its final three-parts to wrap up the storylines of its beloved characters and determine who is victorious between the sides of Hawkins and the Upside Down.
