Hawkins’ Fate Hangs in the Balance in Stranger Things Finale

Netflix has released a full extended preview for Stranger Things Season 5, the upcoming final installment of the hit series, which premieres in late 2024.

As the trailer aptly shows, this is the episode we’ve all been waiting for. The prequel features a chill-inducing dose of the Hawkins crew facing off against the terrors of the Upside Down, complete with action sequences, suspense, and new characters joining the crew.

The season finale of Stranger Things Season 4 ended on a massive cliffhanger when Vecna, the mysterious villain behind all of the Season 4 chaos, tore open a large portal, allowing the Upside Down to pour out of Hawkins. The Upside Down returns in Season 5, with the new season starting in the fall of 1987. Notably, 1987 marks the third anniversary of Will Byers’ disappearance, the event that started the entire Stranger Things phenomenon in the first season.

Season 5 will run for eight episodes, and each of them will be feature-length. In other words, we’re getting eight Stranger Things movies.

Netflix describes the season this way:

Hawkins is forever changed after the Rifts opened. Both new and old faces in the Hawkins crew must band together to complete one mission: find and kill Vecna. The problem is, no one knows where he is or what he plans to do next. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, the U.S. government has put Hawkins on military lockdown and is making a new push to find Eleven. This means the gang will have to once again elude the government and avoid capture while they work together to stop Vecna and the Upside Down.

With all of our main heroes in place, and several of the Hawkins gang (and perhaps even Eleven) coming back to the fight, there’s a strong sense of everything building toward one last monumental battle in Hawkins. The teaser backs that up, showing the entirety of the crew together and ready to fight, for better or worse. The problem is, as we’ve all seen the last few seasons, the Upside Down is a very dark place, and whatever is on the other side of that portal may just be the strongest, most menacing version of the Upside Down yet.

The Caster and the Crew

Amybeth McNulty, who played Vicki in Seasons 1 and 2, has also signed on for Stranger Things Season 5. Fans will also see the return of Gabriella Pizzolo as Dustin’s girlfriend Suzie. Jamie Campbell Bower, who played Vecna in Season 4, will also return. Additionally, we will be introduced to several new actors for Season 5.

Season 5 will feature Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay. Not only is she the legendary Linda Hamilton, but she’s also an action star who, like Eleven, is well-versed in “flame on.” Other new additions for the upcoming final season include Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler, Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow, and Alex Breaux as Lt. Akers.

The entire cast will be back for the epic showdown in Season 5, and the teaser gives us a chance to see some familiar characters, revisited. In one notable moment, several of our heroes (including Lucas) must escape a group of demo-dogs by taking shelter in a closet. It’s an unmistakable callback to the John Hammond in the kitchen with velociraptors moment from Jurassic Park, complete with Lucas crouching and shuffling around like his pants are on fire.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Stranger Things teaser without some Vecna to get under our skin. When we finally hear him at the end of the teaser, he says the catchphrase from Season 4 that we will never, ever be able to get out of our heads: “Found you.”

The outro for the teaser is a grave reminder that Season 5 will likely come with some heavy losses. Eddie Munson’s grave is shown with his headstone defaced with the words “Burn in hell” written on it, with a cross burned into the stone. Despite Eddie’s self-sacrifice in the Season 4 finale, which was the biggest moment of Season 4, many of the residents of Hawkins still have the wrong idea about him.

The only character we’ve lost since Bob in Season 2 who has truly had as much of an impact on the entire cast as Eddie has been Joyce’s mother, Midge. Midge’s death affected both Joyce’s actions and her family, and Joyce’s understanding of her mother as a person. Eddie, on the other hand, is a household name in Hawkins, and the fact that he is being viewed as a villain, and even a monster, by a lot of people in Hawkins will likely change the landscape of the town, especially if the town learns of Eddie’s heroism.

Release and Viewing Details

While the episode count of eight is fairly standard for a Netflix season, there is one viewing detail about the final season that has frustrated many fans in the past. Netflix is once again breaking up the season into separate releases. The first set of episodes, Volume 1, will release on November 26, 2025. Volume 2, which is made up of four episodes, will be released on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025. Volume 3, also four episodes, will come on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2025.