‘Stranger Things 5’ has wrapped. Judging from the cast and crew tributes, we are so not ready

By Dan Heching, CNN

(CNN) — It’s hard to believe that it’s been over eight years since viewers were first introduced to the mysterious and intriguingly retro show “Stranger Things,” and even harder to believe that it’s soon all coming to an end.

Some of the cast and crew of the megahit Netflix series announced on Friday that this week marked the wrap on production of Season 5 of the show, set to debut sometime next year.

Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers on “Stranger Things” and was the first to experience the nefarious “Upside Down” in Hawkins, Indiana back in Season 1, wrote a tribute on Instagram.

“As I close this chapter of my life, I can’t help but be forever grateful for the incredible people that I’ve met and valuable life/career lessons I learned through this decade journey,” Schnapp wrote, going on to list his “top 10” alongside a carousel of nostalgic photos from the early days of the series.

Among Schnapp’s list were nods to “Stranger Things” creators the Duffer Brothers, who he said taught him “the creative process takes time and it’s okay to be meticulous about creating perfect moments.”

On his own Instagram, co-creator Ross Duffer wrote about how they’ve “been telling this story for nearly a decade now. Many of our cast members joined us when they were kids, just ten or eleven years old. It wasn’t just a show for them—it was a defining part of their childhood. They’ve grown up before our eyes, becoming more than actors—they’ve become family.”

Another cast member to mark the moment on social media was Finn Wolfhard, who plays Will’s best friend Mike Wheeler on the show. Sharing a photo of himself with his castmates as youngsters from the first season, Wolfhard wrote that he’s “still in shock” about his work on the final season coming to an end.

“We shot it for a year and I’ll miss all of my friends and our characters terribly. When I think of the show, I picture this first photo. A bunch of goofy young people making something they think is cool but really have no clue what’s to come,” Wolfhard wrote. “I feel like we’re still those people and I’m lucky to still stand beside them today. I hope you’ll love this season as much as I do. See you all next year.”

Schnapp ended his tribute with a heartfelt note of gratitude, writing, “‘Stranger Things’ was more than a job; it was a lifelong dream. A dream made reality thanks to the Duffers. Thank you for taking a chance on me when I was just a 10 year old kid and entrusting me with something so important to you both. Together, this cast + crew has built something so very special, and I couldn’t be any more excited for the world to see the final chapter. Stranger Things is a never ending story for me – it’s in my heart forever.”

“Stranger Things” is a dark sci-fi/horror series that follows a group of teenagers and their families as they face off against an unnamed evil lurking in a mirror dimension – known as the “Upside Down” – underneath their small town. Beginning in 2016, the show has run for four seasons and costars Winona Ryder, David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown. Along the way, the series welcomed some brilliant additional cast members who all became breakout stars, including Sadie Sink, Priah Ferguson, Joseph Quinn and Maya Hawke.

The show has won 12 Primetime Emmys thus far, and introduced us to the terrifying Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in 2022’s Season 4. Netflix has not yet announced a specific date for the premiere of Season 5, other than noting it will be sometime next year.

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