Netflix takes drastic measures to prevent Stranger Things spoilers after huge leak

As Stranger Things’ fifth and final season approaches, Netflix is going through great measures to ensure nothing leaks, including shredding anything and everything.

Stranger Things star Winona Ryder has been busy promoting the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, though she’s still found time to discuss her fellow Stranger Things cast, as well as Netflix’s major security measures.

Speaking to the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ryder revealed that the streaming service is so intent on not letting any plot details leak for Season 5, that they’re taking the scripts out of actors’ hands and shredding them after they’ve been used.

“I have every script with every call sheet and I’m not used to getting it taken away from me and shredded,” she said. “I sometimes won’t let them and I’m like ‘No! I’m not giving you this!’… The shredding, I can’t believe it.”

It sounds like a dramatic gesture, but given the recent leaks that have plagued the platform this past year, one can understand their efforts.

Earlier in 2024, Netflix was hit with a series of major leaks that resulted in episodes of several shows being posted online.

Among them included episodes of Terminator Zero, Arcane, and Ranma 1/2. Many of these leaks came from a well-known “hacker” under the name of @jacejohons4n, who boasted about capturing these assets online.

Netflix then retaliated on August 8, saying [via the Wrap]: “Our team is aggressively taking action to have it taken down.”

“Who wants Stranger Things?” Jace Johnson posed on Aug 14, 2024 on X/Twitter. They then followed up with: “My account is under attack. My Telegram group was deleted. And I’ll probably get sued. I’ll take a small break and try to figure out where I’ll post the next leak.” In the end, the alleged Stranger Things episodes never leaked.

At the time of writing, the release date for Stranger Things Season 5 hasn’t been confirmed.

For more, check out our guides on the Upside Down, Max, and Eleven. Don’t miss all the new TV shows coming to streaming this month.