Stranger Things: Meet Holly Wheeler — What Nell Fisher Brings to the Final Season

Remember Holly Wheeler, the youngest sibling who mostly wandered into the kitchen for juice while everyone else fought monsters? She is apparently done with background duty. The Duffer Brothers told SFX that Holly becomes a 'centerpiece' in Stranger Things Season 5, and they’ve tapped horror up-and-comer Nell Fisher to play the now-older Wheeler kid. Yes, the same Nell Fisher who held her own in Evil Dead Rise. So, that escalated quickly.

Why Holly, and why now?

Season 5 jumps forward a year, which conveniently puts Holly roughly at the age Mike was when this whole nightmare kicked off. The Duffers have been open about wanting to bring back some Season 1 energy, and, well, the original kids are not exactly kids anymore. Here’s how Matt Duffer put it:

"One of the reasons was, we just wanted to recapture some of the feeling of season one, and some of that you can’t recapture unless you have kids, because our kids are not kids any more. They’re not close to being kids any more."

Translation: if you want that early-days vibe, you need a new kid POV. Enter Holly.

From background to bullseye

Holly’s been around since the start, mostly as comic relief and wide-eyed reaction shots. But she’s had legit spooky beats: she was the one who saw something pushing through Joyce’s wall way back in Season 1, and her Lite-Brite turned into an interdimensional walkie-talkie in Season 4. Now the show is putting her front and center. The Duffers even said making her a centerpiece was something they discovered while writing, which usually means the storyline took on a life of its own.

So who is Nell Fisher?

Nell Fisher was born November 2, 2011, in London and has British-New Zealander roots. If you saw Evil Dead Rise (2023), she’s Kassie — the kid who stares down demonic family drama like it’s just another Tuesday. Perfect training for Hawkins, honestly. Bonus tidbit: she reportedly shot up four inches during Season 5 production, forcing the costume department to remake Holly’s outfits three times. Growth spurts do not care about continuity.

What’s actually going on with Holly in Season 5?

Without getting spoiler-y, here’s the lay of the land based on what’s been floated, teased, and quietly confirmed:

• Nell Fisher takes over the role from twins Anniston and Tinsley Price.
• Holly is around 7–8 years old after the one-year time jump.
• Set photos put her at the Creel House with Mike and Will — which, if you’ve watched this show, is pretty much the opposite of a safe space.
• Vecna still being out there makes any kid a potential target, and Holly’s age puts a big neon sign over her head.
• There’s an episode title floating around that starts with 'The Vanishing of...' — fans are connecting dots and sweating, for obvious reasons.
• The writers say Holly becoming a centerpiece was a discovery in the process, so don’t expect a predictable arc.
• Fisher’s horror cred from Evil Dead Rise suggests the show isn’t afraid to push her into genuinely intense territory.

The vibe check

All signs point to Season 5 using Holly to mirror the show’s beginnings while raising the stakes. If they’re really echoing Season 1, that could mean anything from 'unexpected hero' to 'heartbreaker of the season.' Given the locations being teased and who’s still lurking in the Upside Down, I wouldn’t bet on an easy ride for the youngest Wheeler.

When to watch

Stranger Things Season 5 is slated for 2025 and is planned to roll out in three parts: Volume 1 on November 26 (4 episodes), Volume 2 on December 25 (3 episodes), and a finale on December 31 (1 episode). All previous seasons are on Netflix now if you want to revisit Holly’s early eerie moments before she takes center stage.