It’s the beginning of the end for Netflix‘s “Stranger Things.”
The streamer revealed the release date for the fifth and final season of the mega hit show, created by the Duffer Brothers, and it’s coming in three parts: the first debuting Nov. 26, the second Dec. 25, and the series finale Dec. 31.
The entire cast is back for the three-volume “Stranger Things” Season 5: Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, David Harbour as Jim Hopper, Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Noah Schnapp as Will Byers, Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers, Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley, Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman, Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna. “Terminator” star Linda Hamilton is also joining the cast in a mysterious role.
“Stranger Things” Season 4 premiered back in summer 2022 in two parts, released separately in May and July. The episodes were supersized — all over 60 minutes, and the final episode of Part 2 was more than two hours long. It ended with an all-out battle against the evil Vecna and the Demogorgons in the Upside Down, where the beloved newcomer Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) sacrificed himself to save the gang. Vecna is weakened in the aftermath, but remains powerful enough to spread the Upside Down into Hawkins. Everyone in the main cast survives, but Max is left in a coma after Vecna controlled her body.
In a cover story with Variety, Sink was especially cryptic when talking about how she filmed Season 5.
“They love having me run,” she said, perhaps referencing the viral “Running Up That Hill” song from Season 4. “That’s all I’ll say.”
“She’s going to play a part in the season,” Matt Duffer said. Ross Duffer added, “But we don’t want to reveal how that’s possible.”
“Right, because she’s in a coma,” Matt says. “I think she’s grown just more confident as an actor and in her choices. We did film a scene the other day with her that was just absolutely heartbreaking. I don’t know how she hits those notes.”
Watch the teaser for “Stranger Things” Season 5 below.