For the cast of Stranger Things, the final table read for the series finale was an intensely emotional group event, marking the end of nearly a decade of their lives. However, for Jamie Campbell Bower, the actor who brings the show’s terrifying villain Vecna to life, the experience was strikingly different. He was the only main cast member who had to read the final script completely alone, a situation he found strangely fitting for his character.
The Isolated Reading
While the rest of the cast gathered on September 8, 2024, on the show’s Atlanta soundstage for the final table read, Jamie Campbell Bower participated from his apartment via Zoom. The actor revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to miss the in-person gathering.
He described the unique experience, noting how it connected to the character he plays. โIโve discussed Henry and Vecna, and this idea of isolation and loneliness. There are lots of coincidences โ well, seeming coincidences โ that happen in life in general,โ Bower shared. โAnd one of those for me was upon being asked to come in to read the final episode of Stranger Things, I decided to get COVID.โ
โSo my read through for that final episode was done on Zoom in isolation whilst everybody else was in the room. I thought it quite a fitting end,โ he noted.
After the emotional group read concluded, show creators Matt and Ross Duffer checked in on Bower via his screen. The actor, moved by what he had witnessed, shared his gratitude with them. โI remember Matt and Ross just stuck their head around my screen at the end, and I just went, โGuys, thank you so much for changing so many people’s lives.โโ
An Emotional Group Goodbye
The atmosphere for the rest of the cast during the final table read was described as intimate, reverent, and highly emotional. The gathering was held on Stage 16 in Atlanta, where the show had been filmed for most of its run. Unlike larger table reads in the past, this one was a smaller affair, with the cast sitting casually on couches and bean bags.
For many, this was the first time they were seeing the script for the finale, as the Duffer brothers are known for keeping story details tightly under wraps. Sadie Sink, who plays Max Mayfield, described it as “the most nerve-racking of them all.” Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler) said the moment felt like a “turning point” where everyone finally held the answers they had been waiting for.
The emotional dam broke about twenty minutes into the reading. Charlie Heaton, who plays Jonathan Byers, was sitting in front of Noah Schnapp (Will Byers) and Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler).
โI assumed it might get emotional. But 20 minutes in โ and weโre not even a third into the script โ Noah is bawling his eyes out, like deep sobs. And then Finn was crying. That really set everyone off,โ Heaton explained.
Wolfhard admitted he had planned to stay calm but found himself overcome with emotion. โI was like, โIโm not going to cry. Iโm going to feel very normal, and itโs going to be great.โ And then halfway through, I just started totally bawling my eyes out.โ For Schnapp, the script felt deeply personal, noting that “it felt like they were writing the end of our real people lives โ it went beyond just the screenplay.”
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The Final Season and Release
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things sees the heroes of Hawkins on a hunt for Vecna, whose whereabouts are unknown after the events of the previous season. The town is under a strict military quarantine, and Eleven is forced back into hiding. The official plot teases a “final battle” that will require “the full party โ standing together, one last time.”
The season will be released in three parts. Volume 1 premieres on November 26, 2025. Volume 2 follows on December 25, 2025, and the series finale will be released on December 31, 2025. All episodes will be available on Netflix at 8 p.m. ET.
Despite having filmed the finale, the cast will experience the final episode alongside the audience. Noah Schnapp confirmed that the cast will not get early access to the finale, meaning they will watch it at the exact same time as the rest of the world when it drops on New Year’s Eve.
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