Gaten Matarazzo Talks ‘Deep Fear’ of ‘Stranger Things’ Ending and Losing His ‘Great Job Security’

Gaten Matarazzo is preparing for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.

While Season 4 ended in 2022, a return date has not been announced yet. But Noah Schnapp, the actor who plays Will Byers in the series, confirmed during a recent Instagram Live that the team will begin filming in May.

During Matarazzo’s interview with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, he talked about his feelings behind Stranger Things resonating with people and if it is bittersweet that the show is ending.

“There’s an excitement there, ’cause you always want to wrap it up and you want to see how these characters are going to finally develop one last time, and how they’re going to finish their journeys,” he said. “But also there’s like a deep fear, that’s been like—not only has it been amazing, but it’s been like pretty great job security for a while.”

Gaten joked that he’ll have to go “back to freelance” after the Netflix series ends, then shared his comments about what he thinks will happen with his character Dustin.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I think it’s in the best hands it can be. Matt [Duffer] and Ross [Duffer] know these characters better than I think we might. It’s really interesting ’cause they trust us all very much to make our own decisions and go about the scenes the way we’ve always instinctually wanted to. I’ve never really given myself an opportunity to think of what they might want to do, and now’s the best time to start.”

Matarazzo added, “I’d love to see a good launchpad for growth, and I’d love to see these characters thrive and move on from the trauma they’ve endured over the past few years.”

Gaten also talked about working with an organization called CCD Smiles and getting cast in the revival of Sweeney Todd on Broadway. You can watch the entire interview above.