Stranger Things Season 5 finale traveled across Netflix and theatres bearing an emotional farewell to Hawkins that only a ten-year-long epic can offer. Its open-ended possibilities, monstrous battles, and heartfelt goodbyes left the viewers scrambling to find spin-off Easter eggs.

Some fans uncovered a reference to Montauk in the finale, and the social media platforms were instantly flooded with theories about what it might mean for the universe's future. While this homage to the supernatural series' initial title, greenlit by Netflix about 11 years ago, on April 2, 2015, brought about a full-circle moment to the 2-hour finale, several fans believed that it hinted at a brand new spin-off.

In the last scenes of the finale, Hopper suggests to Joyce that they should leave Hawkins and move to Montauk, as he received a better job offer there. 

Die-hard fans immediately picked up on the Easter egg and linked the scene to the show's early development when the Duffer Brothers considered setting the show in Montauk and naming it after the location before choosing Hawkins, Indiana.

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Could this trail of oddly specific crumbs lead to an extended Stranger Things universe? Fans certainly think so. 

On X, fans noted that Hopper, referring to Montauk in his lines, sounded more like a deliberate hint than a casual mention. Some fans noted how Montauk has always been part of the behind-the-scenes mythos, thereby making a perfect segue to a spin-off.

A major portion of the fandom also took into account the Duffer brothers' statements, who have already stressed in several interviews that the spin-off they are working on does not involve Stranger Things' core storyline.

A few people are of the expert opinion that Hopper and Joyce might even make an appearance in the anticipated spin-off of Stranger Things. Meanwhile, some viewers regarded this Easter egg as a prequel or side plot to the Montauk Project conspiracies. On the other hand, many think that it is just a smart tribute to the genesis of the series and no more than that. 

The Rightside Up, the fifth and last season's epic finale, saw the ultimate showdown against Vecna and several open-ended, undecided fates. Some fans were appreciative of the finale mainly for its emotional aspects and the closure it provided, while others were left parched with too many questions unanswered. Nevertheless, the fandom is now in unison, looking forward to the future of the Stranger Things universe. 

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Did you catch the Montauk reference in Stranger Things finale? Let us know in the comments below.