‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 first four episodes’ runtimes revealed — and they’re way shorter than you think
The wait for ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 has been filled with endless speculation. And one rumor in particular has had fans buzzing: that every episode of the final season would be movie-length. But now, co-creator Ross Duffer has officially put that chatter to rest. Taking to Instagram on Monday (October 13), Duffer shared the official runtimes for the first four episodes of the long-awaited final season, and they’re much shorter than many fans expected. According to his post, the Season 5 premiere, titled “The Crawl,” clocks in at 1 hour and 8 minutes.
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Episode 2, teased as “The Vanishing of…” with the rest of the title still under wraps, runs 54 minutes. Episode 3, “The Turnbow Trap,” lasts 1 hour and 6 minutes, while Episode 4, “Sorcerer,” comes in at 1 hour and 23 minutes. That’s a far cry from recent viral claims suggesting every installment would stretch past the 90-minute mark. The clarification also contradicts the reports that alleged each episode would be between 90 minutes and two hours long. The Duffer Brothers’ confirmation signals a return to the show’s earlier pacing.
It’s a format that made ‘Stranger Things’ such a binge-worthy phenomenon when it debuted in 2016. While Season 4 had nearly every episode surpassing 70 minutes (with the finale famously running a full 2 hours and 22 minutes), the final chapter looks set to balance intensity with brevity. Netflix is also shaking things up with an unconventional release schedule for the last season. Instead of dropping all episodes at once, the streamer will split the season into three separate batches, as reported by Variety.
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The first four episodes, which serves as the midseason finale, will debut on November 26, just in time for Thanksgiving weekend. The next three episodes are slated to release on Christmas Day, while the grand finale, titled “The Rightside Up,” will premiere on New Year’s Eve, closing out the Hawkins saga right as 2026 begins. The season is once again directed by the Duffer Brothers along with executive producer Shawn Levy and filmmaker Frank Darabont ('The Shawshank Redemption,' 'The Green Mile,' and 'The Walking Dead'). As for the cast, all fan favorites are returning for the final showdown, according to Deadline.
Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, and Maya Hawke will all reprise their roles. With the reveal of the official runtimes, fans of the show can finally stop speculating and start preparing. The countdown to the end of the ‘Stranger Things’ era has officially begun. And while the episodes may be shorter than rumored, it’s safe to assume the emotional impact will be anything but small.