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There are so many questions waiting to be answered when Stranger Things season five finally returns to Netflix in 2025. How will the world adapt to the Upside Down encroaching on our world? Will Eleven and Hopper get the happy ending they deserve? How much of the season is Max going to spend in a coma? That last one seems to have been answered, at least in part, by Sadie Sink and the Duffer Brothers.

In a recent interview, Sink played coy when asked about how involved she will be in the upcoming final season of Stranger Things. After all, Max, the character she has portrayed since the second season, ended season four blind and in a hospital bed. It left fans wondering if she would be a background character or damsel-in-distress as the final episodes played out.

Sink’s answer was short, sweet, and gave very little away. “They love having me run,” she said, referring to series creators the Duffer Brothers, who were in the interview with her. “That’s all I’ll say.”

Of course, that doesn’t tell us as much as we think. Max could be “running up that hill” in the physical world, or her mind could be stuck in the Upside Down, fleeing from the monsters that roam there. We won’t know until we see some actual footage of Stranger Things season five.

It was the usually tight-lipped Duffer Brothers who shared a bit more about Max’s role in the final confrontation between the Upside Down and Hawkins. “She’s going to play a part in the season,” Matt Duffer said.
“But we don’t want to reveal how that’s possible,” Ross Duffer added.

Matt Duffer did have some complimentary words about Sadie Sink’s acting in the season, though. “I think she’s grown just more confident as an actor and in her choices. We did film a scene the other day with her that was just absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how she hits those notes.”

If nothing else, we can add at least one heartbreaking moment in-between marathon training to Max’s contribution to Stranger Things season five, which is at least something.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"