‘Stranger Things’ Creators Respond to Popular Final Season Fan Theory

Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer shut down an enduring fan theory regarding how Netflix’s hit show will conclude its fifth and final season. The theory envisions Stranger Things wrapping up with the revelation that all of the events depicted have been entirely imagined, part of a very intricate Dungeons and Dragons game between the main characters.

‘That is correct. That is the ending,” Matt Duffer jested to Metro when asked at the opening of the new Stranger Things play in London last Thursday. But he quickly clarified he was joking. “No,” Matt said frankly.

Ross jumped in to contextualize their feelings on that well-trod twist. “That would be the equivalent of, ‘That’s all a dream,’” he explained. “No, I assure you that is not how we’re going to end the show. We’ve known where we’ve been going for a while. And we feel comfortable with it; hopefully, it satisfies everyone. We’ll see.”

While the plot of season five is still under wraps, David Harbour confirmed to the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Variety) in August that fans will indeed be thrilled with the resolution. “I know where we net out and it’s very, very moving,” he explained. “That is the term I will use…It’s a hell of an undertaking, too. I mean, the set pieces and the things in the scripts that we saw are bigger than anything we’ve done in the past.”

Production on the fifth season was significantly delayed by the dueling guild strikes over the summer. During that time, a number of cast members—including Millie Bobby Brown and Gran Turismo star Harbour—admitted they were looking forward to moving on to new projects. However, both Gaten Matarazzo and Finn Wolfhard expressed nervousness about the series concluding.

Matarazzo admitted to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show back in March that he had a “deep fear” of Stranger Things coming to an end. “It’s been pretty good job security for a while,” he said. In January, Wolfhard told Uproxx that he was “not ready” for the show to end, but admitted that it “would be ridiculous” to continue beyond season five.

Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for the fifth season of Stranger Things, but it’s estimated to arrive in the summer of 2025.