Stranger Things 5 surprise recast leaves fans divided

Stranger Things Season 5 is set to recast one of its characters with an entirely new actor, and fans are divided on what this could mean.

The fifth season of Stranger Things is set to air on Netflix later this year, and it seems like pretty much all of the cast from the past four seasons are set to make a return.

However, fans may spot a slight difference with one character, as they’re set to be recast with a new actor taking over the role.

It’s been confirmed that Holly Wheeler, the younger sister of Nancy and Mike, will be played by Nell Fisher in Stranger Things Season 5. She takes over the role from twin actresses Anniston and Tinsley Price, who played Holly in the first four seasons.

This has caused a bit of a stir on social media, as some fans have said they’ll find the recast to be “distracting”.

“I’ll be downvoted here, but I’m not crazy about the recasting,” writes one fan on Reddit. “I’m the kind of person who will be thrown off by it when I’m watching the new season, and when I do a whole series rewatch I already know I’ll be bothered/upset.”

Other fans have weighed in, but they're pretty torn on what this could mean for the show and the character.

“I normally dislike recastings, and I liked the original Holly actresses (twins I believe?), but it feels necessary here,” writes a fan in the comments of the post. “Unless all of season 5 is set well into the 90s, it simply wouldn't make sense. Since it's a smaller role, I don't think it will hurt the show.”

“She’s been such a minor character it doesn’t bother me, but if they are making her a more major character only to make her a sacrificial lamb/put her in peril it’ll be fairly lame,” a third fan writes. “There are plenty of established characters to do that to, we don’t need the disappearance of Will Byers 2.0.”

It’s true that Holly has been a minor character up to this point, so the change in actor shouldn’t feel too jarring. To be honest, I couldn’t even recall what the character looked like until seeing a picture of her again, so I don’t think it’ll change too much.

Stranger Things Season 5 will air in three parts on Netflix beginning with part one on 26th November, part two on 25th December, and part three on 31st December.