‘Stranger Things’ Creators Explain Why Season 5 Has No New Monsters

Over the course of Stranger Things‘ five seasons, the series has introduced a whole world of terrifying creatures from the dimension known as the Upside Down. The Demogorgon might be the most famous, but there have also been the Mind Flayer, the Demobats, and, of course, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the Duffers were asked if Stranger Things Season 5 would introduce any new monsters. “No, I don’t think [so],” said Matt Duffer. “We talked about it, but a lot of this season is about returning to the prior seasons, and we didn’t want to overstuff it with new creatures. So as we worked on the season, we thought, ‘Let’s just have fun with what we’ve previously established.'”

Ross Duffer compared it to another hit horror/sci-fi franchise, saying, “It’s more like taking what we’ve done and then amping it up, like what [James] Cameron did from Alien to Aliens. That’s how we see this season.”

‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Has To Wrap Up Many Stories

Noah Schnapp’s Will Byers face-to-face with Vecna in Stranger Things Season 5

Image via Netflix

Ross Duffer’s comparison to Aliens is interesting, as while James Cameron’s 1986 film did feature more Xenomorphs than its predecessor, it also introduced a new evolution of their design with the Xenomorph Queen. Even though it was not a new species, it was drastically different than what audiences had seen before, and changed the franchise forever. The Duffers’ comments also suggest that Stranger Things Season 5 will feature more of the Upside Down creatures — at least in terms of quantity — than we’ve seen before.

The Duffer brothers seem to be serious about Stranger Things Season 5 tying everything together, including bringing back long-forgotten characters and plot points. Season 5’s first batch of episodes reintroduced Kali Prasad / Eight (Linnea Berthelsen), last seen in Season 2. With only eight episodes, there’s a lot of ground to cover, and introducing new creatures might have been too much for the final season.

Stranger Things Season 5 is off to a solid start, with the first four episodes dropping on Nov. 26, 2025, to get a head start on the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The next three will debut on Christmas Day, with the series finale set for New Year’s Eve. Yet this won’t be the end for Stranger Things, as it was recently confirmed that a new animated series titled Stranger Things: Tales from 1985 is in development. That series, which will be set between the events of Season 2 and Season 3, has already been confirmed to feature the young heroes fighting a new group of monsters from the Upside Down.