‘Stranger Things’ recap ahead of season 5
Catch up on “Stranger Things” before season 5 with key plot twists and epic showdown details
Nearly a decade has passed since Netflix turned our world upside down by releasing “Stranger Things.” But in the fictional and hazardous town of Hawkins, Indiana, only a few years have passed.
While stars Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin have grown up since the 2016 premiere, the characters they portray have yet to finish high school in Season 5 despite experiencing a lifetime’s worth of trauma.
Millie Bobby Brown and her character, Eleven, were both 12 years old during the filming and events of Season 1. Now, the actress is a 21-year-old wife and mother, while the telekinetic heroine on TV is still 16 in the new season, according to the Stranger Things wiki page.
The fifth and final season takes place four years after the events of Season 1, which occurred in November 1983. With the first four episodes of the sci-fi juggernaut now available to stream on Netflix, here’s a breakdown of how the characters’ and cast ages differ from November 1987 and November 2025, respectively.
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown)
- Character’s age: 16
- Actor’s age: 21
Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard)
- Character’s age: 16
- Actor’s age: 22
Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin)
- Character’s age: 16
- Actor’s age: 24
- Character’s age: 23
- Actor’s age: 26
- Character’s age: 16
- Actor’s age: 21
- Character’s age: 16
- Actor’s age: 23
- Character’s age: 20
- Actor’s age: 30
Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton)
- Character’s age: 20
- Actor’s age: 21
Steve Harrington (Joe Keery)
- Character’s age: 21
- Actor’s age: 33
- Character’s age: 19
- Actor’s age: 27
- Character’s age: 13
- Actor’s age: 19
- Character’s age: 7
- Actor’s age: 14
- Character’s age: 45 or 46
- Actor’s age: 54
- Character’s age: About 44 to 48
- Actor’s age: 50
Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman)
- Character’s age: Unclear
- Actor’s age: 49
Vecna / Henry / One (Jamie Campbell Bower)
- Character’s age: About 35 to 41
- Actor’s age: 37
