‘Stranger Things’ creator hints at wild season 5 twists — and one tease could rewrite the show’s history
With the release date inching closer, excitement around 'Stranger Things' Season 5 is mounting. While the final season will focus on Hawkins facing the threat of Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), fans’ speculations are rife. Though most details remain under wraps, a ‘Stranger Things’ creator has teased major twists in season 5, and we can’t wait.
'Stranger Things' co-creator Ross Duffer has hyped the first two episodes of the final season. In an Instagram post shared from what appears to be an editing suite, Duffer announced, "Chapters One and Two: locked, mixed, scored, colored, DONE." He described episode 1, titled 'The Crawl,' as "our favorite, most eventful first episode since Season 1." As for episode 2, titled 'The Vanishing of…,' Duffer teased fan speculation, writing, "Yeah, yeah, you think you know who blah blah." He then added that episode 2 features "by far the craziest cold open we've ever done. One of the sequences we're most proud of this season," according to Screen Rant.
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Duffer also revealed that 'Stranger Things' season 5's first episode, 'The Crawl,' is the Duffer brothers' favorite premiere since the original pilot. But the real intrigue lies in episode 2, ‘The Vanishing of…,’ which is teased to have the “craziest cold open” of the series. While the title hints at another major disappearance, the creators haven't revealed who vanishes. The parallels to season 1’s opening, where Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was taken by the Demogorgon, suggest viewers should brace for an even more intense and terrifying beginning.
Given how Byers' vanishing launched the original story, this new disappearance could set the stage for an even darker fight in season 5. Notably, Netflix has dropped the trailer for the fifth and final season of 'Stranger Things,' which continues after Vecna puts Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) in a coma and unleashes the Upside Down on Hawkins. The trailer ends with Vecna preparing for an all-out war.
Reportedly, the final season of 'Stranger Things' features the return of key stars like Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, and Priah Ferguson. Also returning are Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, Eduardo Franco, and Paul Reiser. New additions include Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, Alex Breaux, and Linda Hamilton, who joins in a still-undisclosed role, per Variety.
Netflix has officially announced that 'Stranger Things' Season 5 will be released in three parts, marking the epic conclusion of the beloved series. Part 1, featuring Episodes 1 to 4, will premiere on Wednesday, November 26, followed by Part 2 (Episodes 5 to 7) on Thursday, December 25, per Business Insider. The series finale, Part 3, is set to arrive on Wednesday, December 31, ending the show with a dramatic New Year's Eve release. In a 2022 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, co-creator Matt Duffer explained that the final season would feel different from Season 4 due to less exposition and a faster pace.