By Tom Richardson, BBC Newsbeat
NetflixStranger Things fans have gone wild after the show’s makers posted an update from the set of its fifth season.
The Netflix sci-fi drama, first released in July 2016, is one of the streamer’s biggest hits and has made stars of its cast.
To celebrate the eighth anniversary of its debut, producers uploaded a behind-the-scenes clip announcing that the crew were halfway through filming season five.
Stranger Things’ final episodes don’t yet have an official release date but it’s been suggested they could arrive next year.
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The gang’s back together
The two-minute teaser video opens with a shot of a clapperboard before showing a montage of well-known locations from the show such as Hawkins High School.
Then Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas, narrates over the footage: “Welcome to season five of Stranger Things.”
We then see a shot of Mike, Lucas, Will and Dustin – the original group of four characters who were at the centre of season one.
After spending much of the series’ fourth outing separated, fans had been hoping to see the gang back together.
Later on in the video Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike, says he’s “excited to have scenes with the original four”.
Growing up strange
A clip of Millie Bobbie Brown, who plays psychic character Eleven, is shown cut with footage of her acting in season one.
“I started when I was ten years old,” she says.
The clip then cuts to her driving a car, and the star adds: “I’m just turning 20 years old”.
Later on, Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, is seen walking onto the set and can be heard saying “this is home”.
There has previously been some criticism of Stranger Things because the gap between seasons meant the actors had aged far more than their characters.
Given the cliffhanger ending of season four, it seems as though the show is planning to pick up where it left off.
NetflixOld and new faces
Fans also got a glimpse of British actor Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays the evil Vecna.
At the end of season four his character appeared to escape from a climactic battle with Eleven, but not before opening a rift between the character’s world and alternative dimension The Upside Down.
Jamie is briefly seen walking towards a make-up table, where he would have spent hours being fitted for his character’s prosthetics.
There’s also a brief shot of actress Linda Hamilton, who’s best known for her work on the Terminator movies.
Directors the Duffer Brothers like to pack Stranger Things with references to 80s pop culture, and previous series have featured appearances from actors who got their big breaks during the decade.
That includes Goonies star Sean Astin, and horror actor Robert Englund, the man behind the iconic Freddie Krueger.
A big reaction
Within hours of being posted, the teaser clip had more than a million views across TikTok, YouTube and X.
For the most part fans were happy to receive an update on the progress of the highly anticipated last ever season.
However, a number responded to express unhappiness that actor Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, would appear in season five.
Noah, who is Jewish, previously received criticism for posting messages in support of Israel following the 7 October attack by Hamas.
He later posted a video, which has since disappeared, stating that his views had been “misconstrued” and that he wanted “peace and safety and security for all innocent people” affected by the conflict.
