Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink Offers Promising Update on Max in the Final Season

When audiences last saw Sadie Sink’s Max in the Season 4 finale of Stranger Things, she had been severely injured by Vecna and was left in a coma. While we don’t know exactly how much time will have passed between that finale and the upcoming season, Sink recently confirmed she’s been physically active in the role of Max, teasing that her injuries have substantially improved from what we last saw. Understandably, we hadn’t expected to see Max entirely sidelined in the final season of the series, but hearing from Sink how intense these new episodes are will bring relief to Max fans. The final season of Stranger Things is in production now and is expected to premiere sometime in 2025.

“They love having me run,” Sink explained to Variety of series creators Matt and Ross Duffer. She didn’t dive deeper into those implications, however, as she admitted, “That’s all I’ll say.”

As any fan of Stranger Things can tell you, though, the otherworldly realm of the Upside Down allows things to happen that aren’t possible in the real world. In this sense, even if she is physically limited in the new batch of episodes, her connection to the Upside Down could allow her to be much more physically active in another realm.

The Duffer brothers also addressed Max’s role in Season 5, while also remaining similarly cryptic.

“She’s going to play a part in the season … but we don’t want to reveal how that’s possible,” Ross detailed to the outlet. 

“Right … because she’s in a coma,” Matt was quick to point out. “I think [Sadie has] grown just more confident as an actor and in her choices. We did film a scene the other day with her that was just absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how she hits those notes.”

Interestingly, this is only the latest instance of the Duffer brothers specifying that Max is in a coma. Back in March, the pair showed off some behind-the-scenes looks at the final season, which included a shot of Sink smiling in the bed we last saw her in. A comment about the post made sure to clarify, “FYI this is a pic of Sadie not Max. Max is in a coma.”

Stay tuned for updates on the final season of Stranger Things.

Are you looking forward to the final season of the series? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!