Production on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things is finally up and running, after being delayed due to last year’s Hollywood strikes.
On Monday, the award-winning Netflix drama’s official social media accounts shared a behind-the-scenes snap of the cast with the show’s creators, The Duffer Brothers.
“THIS IS A CODE RED,” the post read. “Stranger Things 5 production has officially begun!!!”
However, some fans pointed out that the photo may have given away the ending to one of season four’s biggest cliffhangers.
As Stranger Things fans will remember, the most recent season in 2022 came to its conclusion with Max, played by Sadie Sink, in critical condition in hospital, following her final battle with Vecna.
“It’s still really dark and if Max is going to be okay, we just don’t really know,” producer Matt Duffer teased after the finale aired.
“We wanted to leave it up in the air moving forward into season five.”
After the photo was shared, many pointed out that Sadie could be seen in it with her castmates, leading some to speculate that Max would be back in action in the new episodes.
“MAX IS IN THE PHOTO!! WE’RE GETTING MAX SCENES WE WON!” one enthused, while another wrote: “Sadie Sink is in this picture... Does this mean Max is coming back?? I hope so!”
A third fan also responded on X (formerly Twitter): “SADIE SINK SPOTTED MAX MAYFIELD ALIVE!”
The Duffer Brothers revealed back in 2022 that they had toyed with the idea of killing Max off, before ultimately choosing to have her in a coma instead.
“[Max’s death] was discussed as a possibility,” Matt claimed. “For a while that is what was going to happen.
“But [in the end we decided] we wanted to end it with a little more of a question at the end of the season.”