Linda Hamilton Joins The Cast Of Stranger Things Season 5

Buckle up, because Sarah Connor is headed to Hawkins. Netflix revealed via the streamer's annual TUDUM fan event today that Linda Hamilton will be featured in the fifth and final season of the wildly popular sci-fi coming-of-age series "Stranger Things." The legendary actress of "The Terminator," "Dante's Peak," and "Children of the Corn" fame is far from the first '80s icon to make an appearance on the nostalgic series, as "The Princess Bride" star Cary Elwes and former "The Goonies" kid Sean Astin have both also appeared in past seasons. Hopefully, Hamilton's character will fare better than both of those guys did.

Hamilton appeared via a video message and kicked things off with a greeting for her "Terminator" co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had just presented the news that his Netflix series "Fubar" has been renewed for season 2. Though she didn't spill any character details, Hamilton did reveal that she'll be joining the party for "Stranger Things" season 5. "I don't know how to be a fangirl and an actress at the same time," the actress admitted – but she'll probably be okay. Sarah Connor always rises to meet the challenge.

The release date for "Stranger Things" season 5 is still up in the air, in part because the show is massive and historically takes years to make, and in part because the team behind the show willingly chose to pause work on it in the wake of the ongoing Writers' Guild of America strike. The WGA strike is fighting for better, more straightforward residuals, limitations on the use of artificial intelligence tools in the writing process, and more in a labor movement that has been ongoing since early May. On May 8, 2023, "Stranger Things" co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer tweeted that "writing does not stop when filming begins," noting that they won't start production during the strike and "hope a fair deal is reached soon."

With all of this in mind, it's unclear when we'll see "Stranger Things" season 5, but we're honestly not in a hurry to say goodbye to the ragtag heroes who first took Netflix by storm back in 2016. The fourth season ended with some cliffhangers, as Max (Sadie Sink) ended up gravely injured and comatose, Will (Noah Schnapp) seemed to regain his link with a not-quite-dead-yet Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), and Hawkins began decaying as the Upside Down seemingly leaked into the real world. The show also crossed over into more straightforward horror-fantasy territory in its fourth season, as the story matured along with its cast.

"Stranger Things" season 5 does not yet have a release date. The first 4 seasons are now on Netflix.