It’s been so long since the release of Stranger Things Season 4 that even the jokes about how long it’s been have grown old. But at least everything we’ve heard about the fifth and final season has teased something new, including an unprecedented three-part release structure. Episodes 1 to 4 will premiere on November 26, Episodes 5 through 7 will premiere on December 25, and the final, sure to be extra-long episode will drop on December 31.
Because of this risky new release schedule, Season 5 of Stranger Things will feel a little different than usual. It aims, according to one of its showrunners, to conclude Part 1 with a finale-caliber episode that pulls out all the stops.
In an Instagram post celebrating the completion of Episodes 3 and 4, co-showrunner Ross Duffer said Episode 4, “Sorcerer,” is “MASSIVE — as big as any finale we’ve ever done, and the most logistically insane shoot of our lives. We’re still recovering.”
Despite the three-part structure, Stranger Things Season 5 will still have what’s essentially a good old-fashioned midseason finale, like how Season 4 released Episodes 1 through 7 in May 2022 but left Episodes 8 and 9 for July. Unlike Season 4, however, this is a true midseason finale, in that it arrives in the precise middle of the action.
As for the episode itself, we don’t know much yet beyond the fact that it will be “massive.” The title, “Sorcerer,” could refer to the mystical figure’s role in Dungeons & Dragons, which has served as inspiration throughout the show. It could also refer to Sorcerer, William Friedkin’s 1977 cult classic thriller. It’s gone down in history as a commercial failure thanks to its bad timing, having opened in theaters the same weekend as a little movie called Star Wars.
That movie’s release date may be a bit far back for Stranger Things’ stuck-in-the-80s tone, but movie references abound in this show, and they’re likely to go all out with them in the final season, too. Maybe it’s a reference to a slighted movie, or maybe it’s just a nod to the villainous Vecna basically acting like a magician in a tabletop role-playing game. Either way, it’s unmistakably Stranger Things.
