Finn Wolfhard has said he is “incredibly emotional” after wrapping production on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
The Canadian actor, 22, has been playing Mike Wheeler on the hit Netflix sci-fi show since 2016. The final episodes were filmed in December, and are set to arrive on streaming later this year.
At the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Ohio, to promote the fantasy film The Legend of Ochi, Wolfhard told Variety that his last day on the Stranger Things set was “incredibly emotional, obviously.”
“It’s the last 10 years of my life,” he continued. “Also for the creators, the Duffer Bros. started when they were 30 and now they are 40. Everyone had a long journey and shared it together. My whole childhood was there. It was sort of the Toy Story 3 moment of leaving your toys behind. It was really special.”
“We had a long last year,” he continued. “We shot sort of Lord of the Rings style with a year-long shoot. It was a great way to go out and very intense. I feel like it couldn’t have ended better. [The Legend of Ochi] is the first movie that I’m promoting since, so it feels like post-graduation or something. I am excited for everything to come out.”
Stranger Things, which follows a series of paranormal events taking place in an American town in the 1980s, has broken several streaming records for Netflix.
In a tearful video posted to Instagram last December, Brown, who stars as psychic Eleven, said: “Isn’t graduation supposed to bring relief, like you’re glad to leave behind the teachers and classmates? Not me. I am nowhere near ready to leave you guys. I love each and every one of you and I’ll forever carry the memories and bonds we’ve created together as a family.”
Schnapp — who plays timid Will Byers — made a separate farewell post on Instagram in December, writing: “Two days ago, I wrapped my final scene as Will Byers, and I’m feeling very emotional. 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.”
Going on to call Stranger Things “a lifelong dream,” he thanked creators Matt and Ross Duffer 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.”
It was confirmed after the fourth season in 2022 that the final season would feature a one-year time jump in order to keep up with how quickly the show’s stars are out-aging the characters they play.
