The leisure trade hasn’t been the identical since Stranger Issues premiered on Netflix again in 2016, and the look ahead to the fifth and closing season has felt nearly limitless… largely, so far as I’m involved, as a result of nearly three full years have handed for the reason that Season 4, Quantity 2 finale again in July 2022. I’d actually been largely desensitized to the wait after I heard the Duffer Brothers clear the air about their “eight blockbuster motion pictures” promise about Season 5, however a reminder of 1 factor has reactivated my want for brand spanking new episodes.
That one factor was after I realized that Might 27 was the three-year anniversary of Netflix releasing Stranger Issues Season 4, Vol. 1. It had someway appeared like simply yesterday that I’d spoken to Millie Bobby Brown and different solid members about all the space within the fourth season. Hitting that anniversary after we nonetheless don’t have a exact premiere date within the 2025 TV schedule or perhaps a teaser trailer drove me to have a look again at some earlier clues, and there’s one which I could have ignored on the time.
So, be a part of me on a blast to the previous for a have a look at the clue about Eleven which may be extra significant than I gave it credit score for.
Eleven Is Wished By Hawkins P.D…. At Least
This specific clue was launched again on January 30, 2025, and CinemaBlend’s Danielle Bruncati wrote about what it may imply on the time. I simply wasn’t in Stranger Issues mode again then because of the wait and didn’t pay it the eye it could have deserved, so I’m going to lastly dive again into it now. It got here within the type of a “MISSING” poster for Jane Hopper, a.ok.a. Eleven, shared on social media. Have a look:
I don’t need to put an excessive amount of inventory into the descriptions of Jane Hopper and even what she was final seen sporting, however slightly the provide of a “reward totaling $3000.00“ that will likely be paid for “all leads which end result within the location of Jane Hopper or her physique.” Apart from the troubling concept of “or her physique,” that’s some huge cash for probably many leads in post-earthquake Hawkins. I am assuming there’s not precisely a funds surplus within the destroyed city when Season 5 kicks off!
And should you don’t consider me, let’s have a look at some numbers! In doing my due diligence now to make up for what I ignored again in January, I checked out the Inflation Calculator for American foreign money from the U.S. Division of Labor web site. The latest information obtainable on the time of writing signifies that $3000.00 in October 1987 equals out to $8,346.79 in April 2025. (October 1987 is an estimate primarily based on the reveal that Season 5 will likely be set in fall of that 12 months.)
In fact, the caption of “Who’s *actually* searching for Jane Hopper?” signifies that the funding for that provide of greater than $8.3k is coming from a lot greater up than Hawkins P.D. Plus, that is Stranger Issues we’re speaking about. One of many very first mysteries of the collection involved who was secretly working Hawkins Lab and attempting to recapture Eleven.
However there’s extra to the poster than simply the promise of a reward for the placement of Jane Hopper, useless or alive.
Hawkins P.D. Has A Voicemail
Fortunately, Netflix didn’t disable the voicemail operate of the Instagram publish between late January and late Might, as a result of doing my due diligence in fact meant that I needed to name the quantity listed within the photograph. For no matter it’s value (if something), my iPhone lists the quantity as going to Montpelier, Indiana. That is the message:
Thanks for contacting the Hawkins Police Division. Because of the current 7.4 magnitude earthquake, Hawkins is presently below lockdown to make sure the security of our residents. The Hawkins Emergency Process Pressure is working carefully with Hawkins P.D. to trace down lacking individuals, of which JANE HOPPER is a precedence. We urge you, as accountable residents of Hawkins, to help us in our search to find her.
Whereas the recording doesn’t determine the speaker, I really feel fairly assured that the voice isn’t coming from Callahan or Powell. Beneath regular circumstances, I’d think about Mr. Wheeler and probably even Mrs. Wheeler perking up on the point out of performing as “accountable residents of Hawkins,” however the circumstances of their city forward of Season 5 actually aren’t regular.
What I discover attention-grabbing concerning the message is that when once more, there’s no indication of why Jane Hopper can be a precedence for Hawkins P.D. It does sound extra just like the Police Division is searching for her for her personal security than the textual content of the poster does, however that doesn’t make it honest. Personally, I need to know extra about this Emergency Process Pressure, for the reason that phrasing makes it clear that it’s a separate group from Hawkins P.D.
Does this imply one thing important for Season 5? Can I a minimum of hope for the returns of Powell and Callahan, who’ve been a few of my favourite minor characters going again to after they have been speaking to Troy about Eleven breaking his arm again in Season 1? Ought to I’ve simply left this Instagram publish behind in January and waited for information from Netflix about Season 5 hopefully coming sooner slightly than later as summer season kicks off?
Contemplating that my crackpot concept about Lucas’ watch in a behind-the-scenes photograph pointing towards a time bounce forward to 1989 was flawed, I’m fairly cautiously optimistic every time I speculate these days.
What’s Subsequent For Season 5?
Consider it or not, this January publish concerning the hunt for Jane Hopper was truly the final Season 5 publish on Stranger Issues’ Instagram account as of Might 30, 2025. All of the more moderen posts have been concerning the Stranger Issues: The First Shadow Broadway play. That stated, the present’s X account (previously Twitter) confirmed that they’re “going to TUDUM,” which hopefully means a long-awaited replace on Season 5 slightly than extra information concerning the stage manufacturing.
In case you’re curious and/or hopeful sufficient to tune in to TUDUM, the occasion will stream reside on Might 31 beginning at 8 p.m. ET for anyone with a Netflix subscription. You can too rewatch all 4 seasons of Stranger Issues on Netflix, which I could have to do forward of Season 5. Season 4 could have come to a memorable ending again in 2022, however finer particulars can fade over three years of ready!