The kids from Stranger Things look like full-blown adults now in new season 5 set photos. Netflix’s popular sci-fi series, which premiered in 2016, is currently heading into its fifth and final season, which started filming this past January and is expected to wrap by the end of the year. Since the beginning, Stranger Things‘ cast and characters have consisted of the younger kids – Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) – and the older teenagers Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Steve (Joe Keery).

For “Stranger Things Day” on November 6, the in-universe day when Will was abducted into the Upside Down, the official Stranger Things account on X shared new season 5 set photos, and the kids now look like full-blown adults. The first photo shows Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard sitting around a cafeteria table looking noticeably more mature. Another photo shows Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery sitting in a car laughing. Check out the photos below:

What The New Stranger Things Season 5 Set Photos Mean For The Show

They Highlight One Of Its Biggest Problems

Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Eleven looking surprised in Stranger Things Joe Keery as Steve and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in Stranger Things season 3. Dustin, Robin, Steve, and Max peering into a building in Stranger Things season 4
 Dustin and Steve looking over their shoulders in Stranger Things season 4 Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin looking sad in Stranger Things Season 4Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Eleven looking surprised in Stranger Things
 Joe Keery as Steve and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin in Stranger Things season 3. Dustin, Robin, Steve, and Max peering into a building in Stranger Things season 4 Dustin and Steve looking over their shoulders in Stranger Things season 4
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin looking sad in Stranger Things Season 4

For most of the show, and especially since season 4 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its aging cast has been one of the biggest problems plaguing the show. Furthermore, Stranger Things season 5 was delayed due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which only exacerbated the issue. Now, the new season 5 set photos show the kids looking like full-blown adults because simply, they are. Noah Schnapp, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin are 20, 21, 22, and 23 years old, respectively.

Since Stranger Things season 4 ended, it’s been speculated that season 5 would include a time jump, which would help deal with the age discrepancy. However, a video released by Netflix on “Stranger Things Day” revealed that season 5 will begin in the fall of 1987, which is only 18 months after season 4 and not nearly long enough to solve the problem. The fall of 1987 is four years after the events of season 1, which debuted eight years ago in 2016, so the actors have aged significantly more than their characters should have.

Our Take On The New Stranger Things Season 5 Set Photos

Why The Age Discrepancy Might Not Be A Big Deal


While the age discrepancy between the Stranger Things actors and their teenage characters is now more pronounced, this is hardly unprecedented in movies and TV shows. From Grease, where a 24-year-old Olivia Newton-John played a high school senior, to Beverly Hills, 90210, in which Gabrielle Carteris was 29 playing 16, it’s long been common for older actors to play teenagers for various reasons. Viewers are sometimes willing to overlook these age discrepancies, so it’s possible they will too in Stranger Things season 5.