Stranger Things Season 5 Is Bringing In Linda Hamilton, But David Harbour Explains Why He Was 'Surprised' By The Terminator Star's Casting Announcement

While there isn’t a lot we know about Stranger Things Season 5 right given how far off it is from release, arguably the biggest piece of news yet was shared in June. It was announced at the streamer’s Tudum event that Terminator alum Linda Hamilton has been added to the cast of the popular Netflix show’s final outing. This means we’ll likely see her performing opposite David Harbour, who explained why he was “surprised” by Hamilton’s casting announcement.

To be clear, Harbour has nothing against Hamilton joining Stranger Things. Rather, as he laid out while speaking with NME, he was perplexed by the decision to reveal her involvement a little over a month after the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike began, which has resulted in Season 5’s filming being delayed. As the Jim Hopper actor explained:

At the time of this writing, the current writers strike is not only still going and has surpassed the length of the one that happened from late 2007 to early 2008 (which lasted 100 days), there’s also the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which revolves around Hollywood’s actors. So that’s two major labor disputes that’s holding up numerous major projects, including Stranger Things Season 5. While only the writers strike was happening when Linda Hamilton was announced for the final season, Harbour nonetheless found it strange that this news was shared with the public before the WGA members reached a new deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

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It remains to be seen when Stranger Things Season 5 will finally start rolling cameras, and depending on how much longer the wait is, it’s entirely possible that Linda Hamilton may end up bowing out due to scheduling conflicts or some other issue. For now though, she remains on board, though who she’ll be playing remains shrouded in mystery. While David Harbour obviously didn’t disclose any character details, he did say that the “sprint to the finish line” with this final season is “exciting and almost euphoric” to him.

Of course, as indicated earlier, Hamilton is best known for playing Sarah Connor in the Terminator saga, having led the first two movies, vocally cameoed in Terminator Salvation and then returned to the role for 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate. However, that latter movie failed to impress at the box office, which the actress believes may have killed the franchise, though she had “no desire” to continue with it anyway. Hamilton’s other recent credits include recurring roles on the TV shows Resident Alien and Claws, but it’s probably safe to say that Stranger Things is her biggest project yet post-Dark Fate.

As soon as more information about Linda Hamilton’s participation in Stranger Things is announced, we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, Netflix subscribers can easily rewatch the show’s first four seasons to their heart’s content, check out the other best shows to binge watch on Netflix right now or learn what else is coming to the platform by reading through the Netflix TV schedule.