Exclusive: Jodie Foster Cast In Stranger Things Season 5
We've exclusively learned Jodie Foster is joining the Season 5 cast of Stranger Things.
UPDATE: The Stranger Things writing team reached out on Twitter to let us know that our source got this one wrong, and Jodie Foster will not be joining the cast. For information on why or how we might have gotten this one wrong, and what that means for our overall credibility, go here.
It looks like this Oscar winning actress’ work on HBO‘s True Detective hasn’t turned her off from television. Our trusted and proven sources tell us Jodie Foster has been cast in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. This development comes not long after we broke the news that Linda Hamilton of Terminator fame was likewise joining the series.
Jodie Foster is an interesting choice for Stranger Things, considering most of the more well-known stars recruited for the series — like the aforementioned Hamilton, Winona Ryder, Cary Elwes, etc. — are most strongly associated with the 1980s. Certainly, some of Foster’s most landmark and controversial movies came out in the 1980s, including her Oscar-winning performance in 1988’s The Accused.
But it was in the 1990s that she became a bonafide superstar, with iconic roles in The Silence of the Lambs, Nell, and Contact. It’s only speculation, but perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Duffer Brothers see Jodie Foster as a perfect addition to Stranger Things‘ final season.
Since Season 5 will conclude the saga, perhaps bringing in someone who is more of a 1990s star is meant to reflect the ending of this nostalgia-tinged story. Not to mention, of course, with two Oscars under her belt, Jodie Foster could play pretty much anyone she wanted to on Stranger Things.
When it was announced that Foster had been cast as the lead of the long-awaited Season 4 of the acclaimed crime anthology series True Detective, she became part of a growing club of actors who had previously worked mostly in film — like Al Pacino, Harrison Ford, Kevin Costner, etc. — making the jump to television. While the various streamers seem to be struggling more these days, they’re clearly still healthy enough to draw top cinematic talent.
If things follow with the news that Jodie Foster is joining Stranger Things the same way they did with Linda Hamilton, we may have confirmation from Netflix very soon. Giant Freakin Robot scooped the news last Thursday that Hamilton was starring in the series, and Netflix confirmed it two days later.
As to who either Jodie Foster or Linda Hamilton will play in the final season of Stranger Things, we can’t say for sure, but Netflix’s Twitter announcement hinted that Hamilton’s role would be connected to the past of the villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
The only bad news is that regardless of who is playing what role, we’re not likely to be able to stream the fifth season of Stranger Things until the summer of 2025, with the filming expected to last most of 2024.
