Iron Maiden have celebrated their classic track ‘The Trooper’ being played in the final ever episode of Stranger Things.
The fifth and final season of the hit Netflix show was released at the end of 2025, and after being split into three volumes, the highly-anticipated finale was broadcast on New Years Day (January 1).
In it, the heroic group of friends joined forces and came together one last time, on the anniversary of Will Byers’ disappearance, to battle the evil Venca.
Set in the ‘80s, the series came with an impressive soundtrack featuring hits from the era, featuring the likes of Kate Bush, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, ABBA and more.
For the final episode, the show also featured the classic 1983 song ‘Piece Of Mind’ from heavy metal icons, Iron Maiden.
The track was played as Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) took to the stage to deliver a moving speech at his high school graduation, and eventually revealed a ‘Hellfire Lives’ shirt under his graduation gown.
It was a nod to the fan-favourite moment of season four, when the character Eddie Munson – a devoted metalhead played by Joseph Quinn – showcased his skill on the guitar, playing along to Metallica’s ‘Master Of Puppets’ in a particularly intense moment.
‘Stranger Things’ HAS happened… and Eddie got his moment!
Yet to see the finale? Stream now on @netflix @Stranger_Things #IronMaiden #StrangerThings pic.twitter.com/8PxEzTKNxR
— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) January 1, 2026
Now, Iron Maiden have taken to social media to celebrate the classic track making it into the final season. In a new post online, the metal pioneers shared a graphic of their mascot Eddie upside down, on top of the show’s poster. The figure being the wrong side up comes as a nod to the show’s dark, ominous, parallel reality called ‘The Upside Down’.
“Stranger Things HAS happened… and Eddie got his moment!” the caption read. “Yet to see the finale? Stream now on @netflix.”
In an interview with Tudum, one of the show’s co-creators, Ross Duffer, said that much of the final episode was inspired by the character of Eddie Munson, and highlighted how they were particularly fond of the scene “where [Dustin] rips the diploma and flips off the principal, which is something that Eddie said he wanted to do.”
“A lot of it is honouring Eddie and what Hellfire had been,” he continued. “A lot of what Hellfire represents and a lot of what Dustin’s talking about is one of the major themes of the show, which is that this is a story about outsiders and outcasts. It’s about banding together and embracing your otherness to defeat the evils of this world.”
Elsewhere in that interview, Ross Duffer revealed how the iconic David Bowie track ‘Heroes’ was chosen as the final song of the series and, before then, addressed the ambiguity around the central character Eleven and the theory that she faked her own death to keep herself and her friends safe.
With the final episode, some fans have been comparing a scene to a Linkin Park music video, others are convinced another new episode is on the way, Prince has seen a massive increase in streams after being featured, and The Duffer Brothers have also admitted they wished they hadn’t done any interviews explaining the final episode following backlash.
As for other Iron Maiden news, the band have recently celebrated 50 years together by lending their name to a new signature Fender guitar collection, teaming up with West Ham United for a football shirt, and announcing a 2026 European tour, with shows in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Portugal.
They’ve also announced a massive UK date at Knebworth for next summer, with support from The Darkness, The Hu and others, and been announced as one of three headliners for Austria’s Nova Rock 2026 alongside The Cure and Bring Me The Horizon.
