The Party's Dungeons & Dragons books are currently resting on the shelf, awaiting their next chapter. As theories swirl around the possibility of Stranger Things season five not ending with episode eight, the show's creators, Ross Duffer and Matt Duffer, have shared their honest thoughts on whether the Netflix series could possibly make a return. "I genuinely feel like this season truly does close the door on this story," Ross told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on January 2. "It's the end of the story of Hawkins, the story of the Upside Down, and the story of these characters."
However, that doesn't mean revisiting the original characters—including Mike (played by Finn Wolfhard), Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sadie Sink), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo)—is completely out of the question for the future. As Ross quipped, "I guess you never say never." He added, "[Maybe] in 20 years, if we're all broke and need some money, and we've all talked about it," noting that the idea is their "safety net."
While fans may be disappointed that it's officially time to say goodbye to the Upside Down, the Duffer Brothers' decision to step away from the story has plenty of support from the cast. Finn told Entertainment Tonight that if there's a story when they're all in very different stages of their lives, maybe they could come back for more episodes. However, he believes that the whole point of the show ending is because it's run its course.
Netflix echoed those feelings, putting an end to an online theory—dubbed "Conformity Gate"—that speculated there would be a surprise ninth episode released on January 7. Indeed, following the rumors, the streaming platform changed the bios for the official Stranger Things social media accounts on January 7 to read, "ALL EPISODES OF STRANGER THINGS ARE NOW PLAYING."
Of course, the door to other stories in the Stranger Things universe isn't completely closed. In addition to a documentary titled One Last Adventure, chronicling the making of season five and set to be released on Netflix on January 12, the Duffer Brothers previously shared that there are two more related projects in the works. One of these projects is a live-action spinoff that will explore what exactly happened to Henry Creel in the cave. "The spinoff is going to delve into that and explain it, and you're going to understand it," Matt told Variety in an interview published on January 1. "But it's a completely different mythology." He added, "It's very fresh and very new, but yes, it will answer some of the loose threads that are remaining."
