Stranger Things Season 5: All You Need To Know About Series Finale Confirmed By Duffer Brothers

The countdown for Stranger Things Season 5 is ticking, and the more we hear about what's ahead, the more our excitement grows. The first four episodes are set to premiere on November 26 for Vol. 1 and the creators

and brothers, Matt and Ross Duffer, dropped some information on what's ahead, especially with that emotional last episode.

Duffer Brothers on Season 5 opening and episode 8 running time

In an interview with Variety

, conducted in 2024 on the Atlanta set of Stranger Things, the Duffers shared some key details on the final season. Season 5 begins with all characters back in Hawkins under military quarantine. It has been 18 months since Season 4 ended in the show when Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) opened up the Upside Down. Since everyone is in Hawkins now, the Duffers said the episode run times were mostly under an hour, with two exceptions. Episode four is 83 minutes, and the series finale is nearly two hours long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKZyYdwS3Wg

The final episodes won't be shown theatrically

Seeing the success of Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters on the big screen, Matt did hope that Stranger Things could be shown in a theatre. He said, "People don’t get to experience how much time and effort is spent on sound and picture, and they’re seeing it at reduced quality. More than that, it’s about experiencing it at the same time with fans.” However, Netflix’s chief creative officer Bela Bajaria nixed the idea. ALSO READ: Stranger Things Season 5: Eleven, Max And Erica Get Full Focus, See New Character Posters

Story of Stranger Things will wrap up all loose ends

Even with 21 series regulars for Season 5, the creators promise that all stories will be told. Matt stated, "We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters. This is a complete story. It’s done.” More importantly, as Ross says, they will all connect.

Stranger Things spinoffs

The brothers were open to the idea of spinoffs but not necessarily another Stranger Things show. Ross teased the spinoff would “live in a bit of a different world,” but “there’s going to be connective tissue.” The duo has already been imagining that world. With their new deal at Paramount, they would be creatively involved but not as showrunners. Until then, fans can look forward to the animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, which is set after the second season. The show does not have a premiere date yet.

The final season will explain what the Upside Down was

The Duffers studied the endings of shows like Six Feet Under, Friday Night Lights, and The Sopranos to land the ending. The origins of the Upside Down were also saved for the last season. Matt shared, "We knew roughly what the end scene was for years — it wasn’t something we had a strain to come up with. There were elements of it that were discussed for weeks, but the core idea of the ending, we had for a really long time.” They are happy with the ending, but they know fans will definitely have strong opinions about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DknR_UNXbQ

The first table read of the finale on September 8, 2024, brought the room to tears. David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, shared, "The events that happen in that script, they pay off a lot of things that we started in the first season. The series begins with kids in a basement, and when we leave the series, they’ve grown up. The passage of time is just very moving in and of itself.”