Stranger Things fans have a time travel theory that might change the franchise forever

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With the fifth season of Stranger Things arriving soon, fans are buzzing about a theory suggesting time travel could dramatically alter the show’s storyline and the fate of Hawkins.

The show’s final season picks up a year and a half after the events of Season 4, following Vecna’s (Jamie Campbell Bower) success in opening a gateway between Hawkins and the Upside Down. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends will be struggling as the military has taken control to try and stop more chaos.

Okay, so the new Stranger Things Season 5 trailer was intense! It looks like Eleven is really pushing herself to get her powers back on track, and the rest of the gang is desperately trying to come up with a plan to stop the villain. But the biggest shock? It seems Vecna is finally going after Will Byers, and this time it feels like the ultimate showdown. I’m seriously on the edge of my seat!

Talk among fans about Will Byers’ initial disappearance has sparked a theory that Season 5 of Stranger Things might involve time travel, which could drastically alter the show’s entire storyline.

Stranger Things Season 5 time travel theory

A popular theory about time travel started on TikTok after viewers noticed Vecna telling Will he’d help him “one last time” in the show’s trailer. Many believe this means Vecna actually encountered Will back in 1983, when Will was first taken by the demogorgon and ended up in the Upside Down.

Will Byers was kidnapped soon after Eleven unintentionally opened the gateway to the Upside Down, sending Vecna (formerly Henry Creel) to that dimension – a sequence of events shown in flashbacks from Season 4. A popular theory proposes that because the Upside Down was stuck in a single moment when Will was taken, he was caught in a repeating time loop.

The idea is that Eleven could use her abilities to connect Will with his younger self while he’s trapped in the Upside Down. This could allow Will to escape Vecna and the Mind Flayer, and possibly prevent those villains from ever reaching our world.

Older Will travels back in time to help his younger self survive the terrifying events of November 6, 1983. By combining his memories with Eleven’s abilities, they hope to change the past, defeat Vecna, and stop the Upside Down from ever forming. Is this their chance to save Hawkins before everything goes wrong – and finally break the cycle?

People online generally like the idea, but one commenter raised a key problem with the theory. They explained that it creates a ‘grandfather paradox’: if you go back in time to save your grandfather, changing the past, then the original reason for traveling back in time disappears.

Someone else suggested a darker twist to the time travel idea: instead of rescuing Will, what if they went back and eliminated him as a child?

What if the villain realizes Will surviving is the core issue? They could find young Will in the Upside Down and manipulate him into sacrificing himself, preventing him from contacting Joyce and returning home. This would result in both versions of Will dying, effectively erasing the entire story.

It’s a pretty wild idea, but given that the show features telekinesis, monsters, and other dimensions, time travel or repeating time loops don’t seem that far-fetched as potential plot points.

While you’re eagerly awaiting the fifth season of Stranger Things, TopMob has put together a ranking of their favorite episodes and also predicted which characters are most at risk!

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2025-11-03 15:49