With its 2016 release, Netflix came close to weaving the stars into a storyline with Stranger Things as it ticked off the romantic comedy, thriller, horror, science fiction, coming of age, boxes all in one setting. This is why the series has enjoyed itself in a gold bath of compliments up until recently. Call it a coincidence or the Duffer Brothers’ attention to detail, but when the show first aired, its arguable main character, Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, was actually eleven years old. It has been four successful seasons since then. Now, with Stranger Things Season 5, the series finds itself succumbing to the curse of time.

But unlike its predecessors, the Stranger Writers know just how to deal with it.

Stranger Things writers trample criticism about the cast’s age

Time waits for none. And several beloved high school dramas are a testament to this. While Stranger Things managed to follow the kids from middle school to high school, with its lead actress now sporting a giant rock on her engagement finger, that they have outgrown their bowl cuts (cough, Will Byers, cough) is pretty in the face. But Stranger Writers effectively shut it all down as they released a video of real high schoolers from the 90s.

This is why fans put up a weak fight when the series announced that Season 5 was going to be its last. But with the writers being embroiled in the writers’ strike and the actors in their own, there has been more than one joke about how an Upside Down in real life is more believable than the cast qualifying as kids.

Shows from The Suite Life on Deck to Glee are all but victims of this curse of time. But just as expected from the creators of such a mastermind, Stranger Writers have done more than just stand tall against this criticism.

Is the cast really too old to play high schoolers?

With the ongoing SAG-AFTRA, saying that the series will stick to its 2024 release date is a shot in the dark. While they may be prominent talents, the cast and crew of Stranger Things are no Tom Cruise and their fight against AI will definitely last longer than 2 hours and 23 minutes.

There is more truth to the writers disagreeing with the notion that their actors are too old to play high schoolers. There have been various instances when actors almost two decades older than the character have secured the part. The series does not plan to sugarcoat their ages for a prolonged time as it wraps up in Season 5.

Do you also think that the Stranger Things cast is too old to play high schoolers? Let us know in the comments below.