The final season of Stranger Things has dropped its first trailer, and fans are already spiraling over what it could mean for one of the show’s most beloved characters.
After nearly a decade of monsters, mystery, and mind-bending mayhem in Hawkins, the hit Netflix series is finally nearing its end. Starring Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, and Winona Ryder, the show will conclude with a climactic fifth season that picks up after the apocalyptic finale of season four, in which the demonic Upside Down fully breached the real world and set the stage for Eleven’s battle with the sinister Vecna.
The newly released trailer, running two and a half minutes, landed earlier than expected, surprising fans given the premiere is still four months away. But rather than offering closure, it has ignited a wave of speculation and dread.
At the center of that fear? Steve Harrington.
The fan-favorite character, played by Joe Keery, has long been at the heart of theories predicting a major character death in the final season. And now, some fans are convinced the trailer has essentially confirmed it.
The biggest red flag? Steve is largely absent from the teaser.
One particularly troubling scene shows Nancy (Natalia Dyer) frantically scrubbing blood off her hands, a visual that many believe could signal Steve’s death, potentially at her side or because of her. The theory is gaining momentum among viewers who noted the trailer’s biggest sequences seemed to go on without him.
See the trailer below:Fans immediately took to social media to voice their suspicions (and their heartbreak).
“Steve and Dustin hugging, damn, I feel like this is when he's gonna die, I'm gutted,” one fan wrote.
Another added: “Stranger Things opening the teaser trailer with Steve Harrington… if anything happens to my guy I stg.”
And a third didn’t hold back: “If you kill Steve I kill you.”
Whether these clues are a misdirection or a grim preview remains to be seen, but Netflix has certainly succeeded in stoking the tension ahead of the show’s final run.
Stranger Things remains one of the most successful franchises in Netflix history, with its debut season still among the platform’s most-watched of all time. Season five will be split into three parts, with episodes premiering on November 26, Christmas Day, and the finale arriving on New Year’s Eve, Netflix has detailed.
When the show returns, it will be more than nine years since the series first aired, and the original child cast have all grown up, quite literally. Millie Bobby Brown, returning as Eleven, is now 21, while Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas, is 23 and will be 24 when the final season drops, despite still portraying a teenager.
The age gap between actors and characters hasn’t gone unnoticed. Co-creator Ross Duffer addressed the issue in an interview with TV Line, hinting at how the show will handle the time discrepancy.
“Ideally, we’d have shot [Seasons 4 and 5] back to back, but there was just no feasible way to do that,” he explained. “So these are all discussions we’re going to have with our writers when we start the room up.” He also confirmed a time jump is likely in store.
Until then, fans are holding their breath (and watching the trailer frame by frame) as the final season approaches. And if Steve Harrington really is on the chopping block, Netflix might have a riot on its hands.