Stranger Things is the master of anticipation. The series has released four seasons after 9 years, and it’s been three years since we last saw the Hawkins gang. Since then, the cast members who were tweens when we met them have gotten married, directed movies, and starred on Broadway. Meanwhile, Stranger Things itself has created its own Broadway show. But all the while, we’ve been waiting for Season 5, which has been endlessly hyped up by showrunners the Duffer brothers as bigger than ever.
Now, we have our first look at what the final season has in store, and it’s overwhelming to say the least. It’s definitely holding up to the description of “eight blockbuster movies.” Check out the teaser below:
With such a jam-packed story ahead, it makes sense that it’s difficult to truly follow what’s going on in this short clip, but there are some interesting images: Steve in a radio station controlling a radio tower, Lucas at Max’s bedside where she lies still comatose, Dustin visiting Eddie’s defaced grave with “BURN IN HELL” written on it.
But more than anything, this teaser is full of peril. There are countless shots of characters looking terrified, and even more shots of explosions, visual effects, and creatures from the Upside Down we don’t even have words for yet.
But echoing throughout the trailer is the knowledge that this is the last adventure the Hawkins gang will ever go on. Stranger Things has been a pillar of the Netflix original slate for almost a decade now, but this is it’s last hurrah. Considering Season 4 was incredibly ambitious with 90 minute episodes and budgets of feature-length movies, Season 5 is poised to be even bigger.
This is reflected in the release schedule for the season: while Season 4 was released in two parts, Season 5 will be released in three: Episodes 1-4 will release on November 26, Episodes 5-7 will release on December 25th, and the eighth and final episode will premiere on December 31st. In an unprecedented move for Netflix, all of these episodes will premiere not at midnight PST as is standard for the streamer but 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET, a prime-time release. Netflix said Stranger Things would end in 2025, but apparently we’ll have to wait for the last hours of the year.
If this is what we have to look forward to in those eight episodes, then the three-volume division may be for the best: this season is already too overwhelming for a trailer, so it’ll probably be too much for a single release date.
