Matt and Ross Duffer appeared to tease the fate of Joe Keery’s Stranger Things character, Steve Harrington, during their appearance on the Wednesday, December 17, 2025, episode of The Tonight Show, using Funko Pops to hint at how the series might end.
Host Jimmy Fallon challenged the show’s co-creators to preview the future of Stranger Things using only the collectible figures, and their playful demonstration suggested a grim outlook for Steve.
The brothers began by knocking Barb’s Funko Pop to the floor, referencing the character’s death in season 1. They then arranged the remaining characters into symbolic groupings, placing Max at the head of Vecna’s group of chosen children alongside figures like Delightful Derek and Holly.
Henry and Joyce were positioned together, while Will stood on Henry’s head, topped by Vecna’s form.
The Duffers continued by elevating Erica on a riser, submerging Eleven in water, and placing Steve dangerously close to the edge of Fallon’s desk. While done humorously, the segment fueled speculation that Steve’s fate in the final season may be perilous.
According to Entertainment News, Matt said, "This is Steve," prompting an immediate wave of concerned reactions from the audience.
"Whoa!" Fallon said.
"He's fine, he's fine," Matt teasingly said, dismissing the concern.
Ross then nudged Steve slightly closer to the edge, causing everyone’s favorite babysitter to topple off the desk.
“There it is!” Fallon shouted. “That’s how Stranger Things wraps up!”
just a casual couple days in hawkins, indiana pic.twitter.com/Me9yF1QacC
— sƃuᴉɥʇ ɹǝƃuɐɹʇs (@Stranger_Things) December 19, 2025
Stranger Things Season 5 is being released on Netflix in three parts across the 2025 holiday season. Volume 1, consisting of the first four episodes, premiered on November 26, 2025 (U.S. date) at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Volume 2, which includes the next three episodes, is scheduled to drop on December 25, 2025 (Christmas Day) at the same evening time.
Finally, the series finale—a special concluding episode titled The Rightside Up—will be released on December 31, 2025.
008 & 011. pic.twitter.com/DfXz9pDQUH
— sƃuᴉɥʇ ɹǝƃuɐɹʇs (@Stranger_Things) December 18, 2025
Stranger Things season 5, as well as the previous seasons of the series, are streaming exclusively on Netflix.
To watch on Netflix in the U.S., users must have an active paid subscription.
The main plans currently available are the Standard with Ads plan priced at $7.99 per month, which allows streaming with ads, the Standard (no ads) plan priced at $17.99 per month, and the Premium plan at $24.99 per month, which supports 4K resolution and multiple simultaneous screens.
Stay tuned for more updates and announcements from the world of movies and TV shows.
TOPICS: Duffer Brothers, Netflix , Stranger Things , Stranger Things 5