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There are a lot of relationships to juggle in the final season of Stranger Things. Will Eleven and Hopper get their happy ending? Is Will finally going to confess his feelings to Mike? But the most important relationship at play here is obviously the one between Good Guy Steve and his little buddy Dustin. According to Gaten Matarazzo, we’ll at least see more of this dynamic duo in action when the show returns to Netflix in 2025.

In a wide-ranging interview, Gaten Matarazzo discussed the strange trajectory of his career. While he was tight-lipped about the actual plot of Stranger Things season five, he did admit that we would see Dustin and Steve working together at least one more time. “Yeah, for sure. I think it would be a real disappointment if I didn’t get to work with Joe [Keery] consistently. He’s a really good friend, one of my closest on the show, and he’s such a talent on screen, off screen, and you learn so much from him every day. He’s such a fun presence.”

Just like the two characters, Matarazzo and Keery have seen their relationship change over the time they’ve been on the show. “It’s so cool, because we started working together consistently in the second season, which was about seven years ago now, and at that time, I was 14 going on 15, and so I still looked at him like this really cool older brother, someone who I looked up to and wanted to impress.”

“And that’s not changed at all,” he continues. “But there’s a kind of vibe that shifted now that I entered my 20s. I’m about the same age he was when we started the show and it's definitely more like a peer-level kinship and a real bond. He’s a really good buddy of mine. I think it’s really cool for that dynamic to shift as we’ve gotten older, and I think that shows up on screen. It’s gonna be fun for people to see.”

It is no secret that the kids of Stranger Things have grown up in the past few years as we’ve been waiting for the final season. In fact, some of the cast have made jokes to that effect. However, we’re just happy to get to see these two fighting Demogorgons side-by-side one more time.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"