Winona Ryder Teases “Bittersweet” Final Season of Stranger Things

Originally appeared on E! Online

Friends don’t lie.

Which is why Winona Ryder gave her honest review on how she’s feeling about the upcoming final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, on which she’s starred since 2016.

“We're still filming, it’s still happening till the end of the year,” she exclusively told E! News. “It's going to be bittersweet.”

But as she looks back on the eight years since season one premiered (plus an extra couple for the time the actors spent filming), the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star—whose movie is out in theaters Sept. 6—can’t quite believe how the show has turned the world upside down.

“It is the 10th year of that, which is wild,” she noted. “I could never I never imagined it would, you know, it's sort of like Beetlejuice. I don't think any of us anticipated that show becoming what it did.” (For more with Winona, tune into E! News tonight Aug. 20 at 11 p.m.)

And indeed, across the four seasons that have been released so far, Stranger Things has garnered n almost cult-like following, propelling its younger stars such as Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and Gaten Matarazzo to huge levels of fame.

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But as Winona noted, despite season four having been released in 2022, the final fifth installment is still in production—though Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley on the series, recently promised the wait will be worth it.

Winona Ryder
Arturo Holmes/WireImage

“We’re making, basically, eight movies," Maya explained during the June 27 episode of Penn Badgley's Podcrushed. "The episodes are very long.”

Because, as she pointed out, show creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer take the responsibility they have for the fans very seriously.

“Our showrunners, Matt and Ross, take a lot of responsibility," Maya continued. "They have an amazing team of writers, but they’re very involved. It takes a long time to write each season, and it takes a long time to shoot them.”

Stranger Things cast
Bennett Raglin/WireImage

And in a recent first-look video that teased the start of production for season five, many of the original cast members reflected on the journeys they’ve taken with the series since its inception.

As Millie reflected, “I started when I was 10. I’m now turning 20 years old. It feels very weird.”

But for many of them, including Gaten, they wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“This is home,” the now 21-year-old, who plays Dustin Henderson on the series, explained. “You just remember why you’re doing it and how much fun you have.”

For more on everything we know about Stranger Things season five, keep reading.

—Reporting by Emily Curl

Farewell Forever?

Farewell Forever?


Max's Future

Max's Future


The Love Triangle

The Love Triangle


Will and Vecna

Will and Vecna


Goodbye, California

Goodbye, California


Production Plans

Production Plans


Production is Officially Underway

<p>Production is Officially Underway</p>


All Will Be Answered

All Will Be Answered

In an exclusive interview with E! News, Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy promised that season five "will answer all remaining questions," adding, "we are in the business of satisfying viewers."


The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End


It Ends With Will

It Ends With Will


It'll Be Very Long

<p>It'll Be Very Long</p>

Maya Hawke recently revealed the upcoming series is "basically eight movies."

As she explained on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed in June 2024, “The episodes are very long.”


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