NEED TO KNOW
It’s time for one final epic battle in Hawkins.
On Wednesday, July 16, Netflix released a new teaser for the highly anticipated fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which returns on Nov. 26.
Netflix had previously announced the premiere date of season 5 at its Tudum 2025 live event on Saturday, May 31. Volume 1 will contain four episodes, while Volume 2, which is set to drop on Christmas, will contain three episodes and the series finale will premiere on New Year’s Eve.
The first volume of the upcoming season picks up in the brutal aftermath of the end of season 4.
The beloved crew will face off against the dark forces of the supernatural Upside Down, an alternate dimension that has terrorized, killed, and kidnapped the residents of the fictional Hawkins, Indiana, throughout the show’s run.
Courtesy of Netflix
Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo), Steve Harrington (Joe Keery), Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), and Jim Hopper (David Harbour) team up for one final showdown after the town is overrun by the Upside Down, and the government does not understand how to tame it.
In a voiceover, Mike (Wolfhard) is heard announcing a “burn” soon to commence, indicating that the crew is planning on burning the Upside Down down.
Later in the teaser, Hopper (Harbour) is seen asking Eleven (Brown) to “fight one last time,” before concluding with a firm message: “Let’s end this, kid.”
The teaser then continues to depict the team gearing up and preparing for a major fight, before cutting to Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) still in a coma amid the aftermath of season 4, in which Eleven attempted to use her telekinetic abilities through Max to communicate with Upside Down supervillain Vecna.
Courtesy of Netflix
Lucas is seen crying next to her hospital bed, though the character’s fate in season 5 is yet to be revealed.
Couple Jonathan (Heaton) and Nancy (Dyer) are seen having an emotional moment together as Steve embraces Nancy’s younger brother Mike, potentially hinting at a number of major main characters’ deaths.
Lucas’ younger sister Erica Sinclair (Priah Ferguson) is also seen joining in on the fight, from the classroom and beyond.
Meanwhile, Dustin mourns the loss of Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), who died in season 4, and is still the subject of ridicule from the town due to his alternative lifestyle even after his death.
Courtesy of Netflix
This isn’t the first teaser that has been released and hinted at what’s to come in season 5.
A teaser shared in November 2024 revealed the titles for all eight episodes of season 5, ending with the series finale titled “The Rightside Up.” This brings the show full circle, as the season 1 finale was titled “The Upside Down.”
“In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins,” read on-screen text in the teaser, revealing a time jump for the show after the previous season was set in the spring of 1986.
In January 2024, Netflix announced that production had begun on Stranger Things season 5, sharing a black-and-white photo of the cast. Co-creator Ross Duffer — one-half of the Duffer Brothers alongside Matt Duffer — then confirmed in December of that year that production had wrapped.
The cast has been outspoken about how difficult it’s been to say goodbye to the show after five seasons, and Hawke told PEOPLE in June 2024 that filming season 5 had been “heartbreaking” for her.
“I mean, it’s the end of a really long journey. Longer for some of my castmates, even, than me. It’s really sentimental,” she said. “We shoot for a long time, so it’s reinvigorating [to bring] the joy and finding it everyday and making it new. It’s a really fun thing to do.”
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Seasons 1-4 of Stranger Things are now streaming on Netflix, and season 5 premieres with Volume 1 on Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET. Volume 2 will be released on Dec. 25, and the finale will be released on Dec. 31 on Netflix.
