Linda Hamilton Joins Stranger Things Season 5

Stranger Things just added one very big action star to its final season.

Linda Hamilton, best known as Sarah Connor in The Terminator, Terminator 2, and Terminator: Dark Fate, is joining the cast for Season 5, it was announced during today’s Tudum livestream.

— Netflix (@netflix) June 17, 2023

It’s undeniably a huge get for Stranger Things, which has nabbed some major stars of the ‘80s in the past. There’s obviously Winona Ryder, who’s a member of the core cast as Joyce Byers, but the show has also featured Full Metal Jacket star Matthew Modine, Freddy Krueger actor Robert Englund, The Goonies breakout Sean Astin, The Princess Bride’s Cary Elwes, and Mad About You star Paul Reiser.

And, as Stranger Things has to be nearing the ‘90s by now, Hamilton – who truly became an action icon in James Cameron’s 1991 classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day – makes a lot of sense. Plus, with Season 4’s finale basically teeing up a giant showdown with Vecna, the Hawkins crew is gonna need some muscle.

The announcement was the biggest takeaway from Stranger Things’ time at Tudum, as it has no Season 5 footage to show at the moment. It was originally set to start production this month, but showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer (better known as the Duffer brothers) confirmed in May that filming would not begin while the writers’ strike continues.

Hamilton’s casting is perhaps the most significant update we’ve gotten on Stranger Things’ fifth and final season. Previously, The Duffers declared Season 5 would be “a culmination of all the seasons” with “a little bit of everything” from the past, and revealed the title of its first episode.

For everything announced during Netflix’s Tudum, check out our roundup.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.