Stranger Things creators tease “heartbreaking” role for Max in Season 5

The Duffer brothers have been hinting at what to expect in the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, and it sounds like there will be “heartbreak” when it comes to fan-favorite Max.

Played by Sadie Sink, the character of Max was introduced in Season 2, but she truly took center stage in Stranger Things Season 5.

While battling her own demons, Max also found herself going toe-to-toe with the season’s overarching villain Vecna.

It all built to a spectacular sequence that saw Max trying to fleeing for her life, which was soundtracked by the character’s favorite song, ‘Running Up That Hill‘ by Kate Bush.

The scene quickly went viral, and has been viewed more than 31 million times on the Netflix YouTube channel.

But her storyline ended in tragedy, with Max falling into a coma at the end of proceedings. This means there’s been much speculation regarding how much the character will feature in Season 5.

During a Sadie Sink profile in Variety, Stranger Things creators and showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer chimed in with a tease of what’s to come. Here’s what they said:

Matt Duffer: “She’s going to play a part in the season.”

Ross Duffer: “But we don’t want to reveal how that’s possible.”

Matt Duffer: “Right, because she’s in a coma.”

But then Matt elaborates when discussing Sadie Sink’s performance: “I think she’s grown just more confident as an actor and in her choices. We did film a scene the other day with her that was just absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how she hits those notes.”

As for Sink herself, she was keeping her cards close to her chest in that same article, she does allude to action, revealing: “They love having me run.”

This might mean Max emerges from her coma, or might not be due to the obvious strange things that happen in Stranger Things. To find out what’s afoot, fans will have to wait until Season 5, which is currently filming, and set to hit Netflix next year.

Before then, you can head here for the best TV shows of 2024 so far, or here for our pick of TV shows streaming this month.