The kids have officially turned their tassels! On New Year’s Eve the Duffer Brothers’ “Stranger Things” series formally came to an end, finalizing a saga that began in 2016, and which for the greater part of the past decade has established itself as a significantly defining aspect of recent culture.
In fighting literal monsters, adolescent bullies, and the social constraints of growing up in 80’s suburbia, the narrative of “Stranger Things” has positioned itself as something of a guide on how best to navigate coming of age in the midst of unabridged chaos. In the fashion of many a coming-of-age story, “Stranger Things” ends with a high school graduation for its main characters.
Be that as it may, one question remains for many viewers and fans: though their on-screen characters have graduated from the perpetual mayhem of Hawkins, Indiana, what will become of the numerous young stars that got their respective “big breaks” from the series now that they have graduated from playing these most adored characters on our screens?
The fate of the party
Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo and Sadie Sink play the five principal characters in the series: Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, Jane “Eleven” Hopper, Will Byers, Dustin Henderson and Max Mayfield. Over the years, audiences have come to know the ins and outs of the “Stranger Things” story and the five core characters that make up the Dungeons and Dragons party, almost as well as they have come to know themselves, much of the audience growing in tandem with the characters.
The largely controversial ending of the series features Mike, Lucas, WIll, Dustin and Max graduating from Hawkins High, and Eleven meeting a fate unbeknownst to not only the audience, but to her friends and family as well. It is suggested at the end that, rather than suffering the self-sacrificial death that she was originally believed to have endured, she evaded military capture and endeavoured to spend the rest of her natural life traversing lands that were to her previously unexplored, and settling down in a quaint village removed from the civilization she previously knew. Though this conclusion is based mostly on conjecture and not absolute truths. The party finds solace in this potential ending, even so.
As for the rest of the characters, Mike is said to become a writer, chronicling the adventures of him and his friends for an audience larger than simply those that gather around the table in his basement watching his stories as the game master of Dungeons and Dragons unfold. Dustin goes off to college where he continues to be a star student, while still making time to hang out with his mentor, best friend, and fan favorite, Steve Harrington. Lucas and Max are depicted continuing a life together in Hawkins, it being unclear whether either of them ventures to university. Lastly, Will is shown to have moved to the bustling city of New York.
What is next for these young stars?
As for the actors and actresses themselves, their careers have yet to climax. Sadie Sink starred in the Broadway production “John Proctor is the Villain,” for which she was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play at the 2025 Tony Awards Additionally, Sink is set to star alongside Noah Jupe, of Oscar nominated film “Hamnet,” in London’s Harold Pinter Theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Her recent proclivity for stage performance raises the question of if this shift towards theater acting as opposed to screen acting will be a trend moving forward, or if audiences can expect to see her on their screens again soon.
Gaten Matarazzo will be found not only starring in but executive producing “Pizza Movie,” an upcoming 2026 picture directed by Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher. Millie Bobby Brown is slated to be involved in a plethora of upcoming projects, most notably the third movie in the “Enola Holmes” series, which releases sometime in 2026. Significantly, Brown and husband Jake Bongiovi welcomed a baby girl in August of 2025, now entering 2026 as a family of three.
Caleb McLaughlin will have a starring voice role in the upcoming 2026 animated picture produced by Stephen Curry “GOAT.” As of now, Noah Schnapp does not have any publicly announced upcoming acting projects, but he is set to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in May of 2026 with a degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Lastly, Finn Wolfhard hosted Saturday Night Live alongside rapper A$AP Rocky on January 17. Additionally, Wolfhard continues to work on his music, which is something he did for the entirety of his time on “Stranger Things.” His freshman album as a solo artist “Happy Birthday,” was released in June 2025. Wolfhard seems to be passionate about exploring other creative avenues outside of his acting, making his directorial debut with “Hell of a Summer,” a horror and comedy picture which he co-directed with fellow actor and filmmaker Billy Bryk, which was released in April 2025.
In Wolfhard’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, a sketch that was an overt nod to the conversations frequently had by the ladies of “Sex in the City” featured satirical predictions of where in life the characters of “Stranger Things” would be following the finale. The sketch takes place in the 90’s, so one must wonder what it would look like if the “Stranger Things” characters were to live in our modern era. Would Mike’s story conclude with him posting on Substack instead of using a typewriter? Would Max have internet-bullied all of the so-called skateboarding “posers” during the Mid-90’s craze in 2020? Would Will be on Grindr?
A true fan must ask themselves these most consequential questions. Having watched these characters through the trials and tribulations of inter-dimensional and other worldly warfare, who better equipped than viewers to predict what would be the modern habits and guilty pleasures of these characters?
Let us know @VALLEYmag on X what you think the “Stranger Things” kids would be up to today, or even what they would be up to in State College!
