Stranger Things Season 5 Adds Linda Hamilton to Netflix Series

By Jamie Jirak

Stranger Things fans weren't left out! Netflix's annual global fan event TUDUM kicked off this afternoon, and there have been some exciting announcements about everyone's favorite shows. Fans of the streaming service have been especially eager to learn about the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which is expected to premiere next year, but is currently on hold due to the writers' strike. The season will see the return of the beloved cast in addition to some exciting newcomers. Today, it was revealed that The Terminator and Resident Alien star Linda Hamilton will be joining the series. 

While Hamilton feels like a big surprise, she actually makes perfect sense when you consider how many big stars from the 1980s have joined Stranger Things. Hamilton is best known for playing Sarah Conner, a role she first took on in 1984. The show's fourth season included Robert Englund as a guest star. Of course, he is best known for playing Freddy Kruger, a role he also began in 1984. Stranger Things has featured many actors who were big in the 1980s, including Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine, Sean Astin, Cary Elwes, and Paul Reiser.

How Will Stranger Things End?

Stranger Things creators, Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, recently revealed that their pitch for the fifth season was a tear-jerker. 

"Listen. It's our process but it's just like, we really just try to focus on one season at a time," Ross Duffer previously told The Wrap. "We do have an outline for season 5 and we pitched it to Netflix and they really responded well to it. I mean, it was hard. It's the end of the story. I saw executives crying who I've never seen cry before and it was wild. And it's not just to do with the story, just the fact that it's like, Oh my God, this thing that has defined so many of our lives, these Netflix people who has been with us from the beginning, seven years now, and it's hard to imagine the journey coming to an end."

Will Stranger Things Get a Spin-Off?

The Duffers previously confirmed they plan to start developing a spin-off sooner rather than later. In a funny turn of events, Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) is the only actor from the beloved series who knows what the spinoff is about. Apparently, the young star guessed the premise and he recently shared with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that he's been sworn to secrecy. 

"We were on set filming Stranger Things 4 and we were all talking about if there's going to be, like joking, 'Oh they're all going to have us back in 20 years and we're all going to fat and old,' that kind of thing," Wolfhard shared. "And then I was like, 'But if you guys are actually going to do a spin-off, it should be this...' And then I said it, and the Duffers looked at each other and looked at me and they were like, 'Could we talk to you for a second?' And then they pulled me off and they were like, 'That is the idea. Who told you?' and I was like, 'No one,' and they were like 'What do you mean? You just came up with it?' and I was like, 'Well, no, I just thought that that would be a cool way to expand.' It was really funny and they were like 'Okay, well... don't tell anyone.'"

Are you excited to see Linda Hamilton in Stranger Things? Tell us in the comments and stay tuned for more from Netflix's TUDUM. 

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