Linda Hamilton to Join ‘Stranger Things’ Cast for Season 5

Terminator star Linda Hamilton will join the Stranger Things characters in Hawkins, Indiana for its fifth and final season, Netflix announced on Saturday at its Tudum event in Brazil.

Details — from what part she will play to what episodes she will appear in — have not been disclosed.

Hamilton appeared via video for the Tudum event to announce the news, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and she was introduced by her Terminator costar Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was also at the event to announce that Fubar was renewed for a second season. Hamilton is best known for portraying Sarah Connor in the Terminator franchise, beginning with the first film in 1984. She reprised the role for 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day and again for 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate. She has also starred in other films, including Children of the Corn and she was nominated for an Emmy and two Golden Globes for her work on the TV series, Beauty and the Beast.  

In February 2022, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced that the hit sci-fi series would conclude after its fifth season. It’s unclear when the series will return to Netflix for its final bow, and production is currently on hold. “Writing does not stop when filming begins,” the Duffer Brothers wrote last month in solidarity with the Writing Guild of America’s writers’ strike. “While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out. #wgastrong.”

Netflix and the Duffers are also discussing potential spinoffs, including a Stranger Things animated series that has been ordered, a live-action spinoff, and a stage production, as Variety reports.