Stranger Things Creators Say Cast Aging Is ‘Not As Dramatic as People Think’

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The team behind the popular show has responded to long-standing fan concerns about the actors aging. However, they don’t appear to see it as a significant issue.

Although only five years have passed within the story of Stranger Things – from Will Byers’ disappearance in 1983 to the events of the final season – nine years have passed since the show first aired in 2016. This means the actors have aged much more quickly than their characters, and it’s become increasingly noticeable – almost a running joke among fans.

The creators of the show, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, say the time jumps aren’t as noticeable as viewers believe. Matt explained that they filmed a scene in Season 4, Episode 4 (“Dear Billy”) with a year-long gap between shots. Sadie Sink’s character writes letters in the basement, then appears outside later, and the time difference wasn’t detectable. According to Matt, ‘No one’s ever noticed that,’ despite the full year passing between the two shots.

As Ross explained, the break in filming happened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt added that surprisingly, no one had ever pointed it out before. He noted that the change is less noticeable as the characters age, but coming back for Season 3 was a shock to both him and Ross. They realized they needed to rewrite some scenes because they had previously been writing the characters as if they were younger.

The dialogue the writers created didn’t quite fit the actors’ voices as they started to change during puberty. This is still an ongoing issue. They recently recorded with Jake Connelly, who plays a new character, and his voice had already deepened since filming. Fortunately, they can use audio equalization technology to fix it. They listened to it today and were relieved to find it sounded fine after all.

Stranger Things Season 5’s Aging Cast Isn’t a Problem

Even though the young actors of Stranger Things are getting older, this won’t be a concern much longer. Season 5 will be the last season of the show. However, while the series on Netflix is concluding, the cast is already preparing for future projects with a new deal at Paramount.

The first spin-off series from Stranger Things is an animated show called Stranger Things: Tales from ’85. It’s designed to feel like the Saturday morning cartoons kids in the 1980s – like the original Stranger Things characters – would have enjoyed. Netflix announced this on this year’s Stranger Things Day.

Another series is also being developed, but information about it is being kept secret. What we do know is that it will be a fresh start, meaning the actors from Stranger Things won’t need to reprise their roles as younger versions of themselves.

There have been rumors circulating for a while about a new series, reportedly titled Stranger Things: Tokyo. However, no one officially connected to the show has confirmed or denied these reports, which suggest the series will be set in Tokyo.

The first episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 will be available on November 26th. The second part of Season 5 premieres on Christmas Day, December 25th, and the series will conclude with its finale on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, all on Netflix.

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2025-11-24 18:06