Stranger Things season 5: everything we know about the hit Netflix show's final entry (release date, trailer, cast, plot)

Stranger Things season 5 is – at the time of this article's final big update – less than three days away.

Beginning November 26/27, the incredibly popular Netflix show's fifth and final season will start to bring down the curtain on Stranger Things' main show. And, after a decade-long run, there won't be a dry eye in the house when it comes to a close.

So, what do we know about season 5 ahead of its release on the world's best streaming service? Below, you'll find the most important information on it, including its launch schedule, cast list, story specifics, and franchise future. Full spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 4. Possible spoilers for season 5 are also incoming.

Stranger Things season 5 release date

Stranger Things will return on November 26 in North and South America, and November 27 everywhere else.

Season 5 won't drop in full then, too. Earlier this year, Netflix revealed Stranger Things season 5 would launch in three parts – so, how many episodes will each volume contain?

Stranger Things season 5 full release schedule

If you skipped past the X/Twitter post in the section above, you'll want to know when each part of season 5 will make landfall and how many chapters they'll have. Well, here are your answers:

• Season 5 volume 1 – November 26 / 27; comprises episodes 1 to 4
• Season 5 volume 2 – December 25 / 26; includes episodes 5 to 7
• Season 5 volume 3 – December 31, 2025 / January 1, 2026; only contains the finale

For those who want to experience the supernatural sci-fi horror series' final-ever episode alongside their fellow fans, Stranger Things season 5 episode 8 will be available to watch in theaters.

Unfortunately, that only applies in the US and Canada. If you live outside of North America, you'll have to make do with streaming it at home.

Stranger Things season 5 trailer

Stranger Things 5 | Official Teaser | Netflix - YouTube

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Stranger Things season 5's first trailer was released in mid-July. You can read my breakdown and discussion of its biggest fan theories via my Stranger Things season 5 trailer launch blog.

Before that, a Stranger Things 5's date announcement video revealed our first proper look at the show's highly anticipated return, which followed a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Stranger Things season 5's development in mid-2024. Then, in September, a new season 5 trailer teased one final, danger-filled quest for the Hawkins crew.

And, releasing in time for Halloween 2025, another official trailer for Stranger Things 5, which you can view below, dialled the tension up to 11. Well, it would have if Netflix hadn't accidentally leaked season 5's official trailer hours earlier...

Stranger Things 5 | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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Finally, mere days before Stranger Things 5 launched worldwide, Netflix further raised our excitement levels with a volume 1-centric teaser. Watch it below:

Stranger Things 5 | Volume 1 Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

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Stranger Things season 5: watch the first five minutes now

Stranger Things 5 | First Five Minutes | Netflix - YouTube

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If all of that footage wasn't enough to whet your appetite, Netflix released the first five minutes of Stranger Things season 5 in early November.

The footage, which is a Will Byers-based flashback, fills in the narrative gaps from a key moment in season 1. So, watch it above if you can't wait for volume 1 to drop.

Stranger Things season 5 confirmed cast

Full spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 4.

Here's the confirmed cast for 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
• Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield
• Natalie Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
• Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers
• Joe Keery as Steve Harrington
• Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley
• Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair
• Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman
• Jamie Campbell-Bower as Vecna
• Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler
• Amybeth McNulty as Vickie
• Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler
• Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow
• Alex Breaux as Lieutenant Akers
• Linda Hamilton as Doctor Kay

The biggest casting news is Terminator star Linda Hamilton has joined the Stranger Things 5 ranks. She'll play a gun-toting scientist called Doctor Kay, who's been described as "hyper-intelligent and intimidating" by co-creator Matt Duffer (per Empire magazine).

Last July, we also learned Fisher (Evil Dead Rise), Breaux (Waco: The Aftermath), and up-and-comer Connelly had also joined the cast. Fisher will play Holly Wheeler, aka Mike and Nancy's younger sibling, while Connelly and Breaux have been cast as Derek and Lieutenant Akers.

Elsewhere, Ted Wheeler (Joe Chrest), Lieutenant Colonel Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus), and Suzie (Gabriella Pizzolo) should feature. Doctor Sam Owens' (Paul Reiser) fate is unknown after he was left handcuffed to a pipe in the subterranean Nina Project in season 4. However, I'd be surprised if he isn't part of proceedings.

On the non-returns front, Eduardo Franco has confirmed (per IGN) he won't reprise his role as Argyle. Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson won't be back, either, following his death in last season's finale. Other season 4 characters in Dmitri Antonov (Tom Wlaschiha) and Yuri Ismaylov (Nikola Duricko) aren't likely to appear, either.

Stranger Things season 5 episode titles and runtimes

Before we get into this season's actual story, you'll want more details on its episode titles and runtimes.

Where the latter are concerned, we only know how long the first four chapters will be. Co-creator Ross Duffer revealed each entry's runtime on Instagram in mid-October (see above).

Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley, has teased Stranger Things 5 will test our runtime limits because "basically, eight movies" have been filmed. Season 5's 12-month shoot yielded 650-plus hours of footage, too, which has been whittled down for its "blockbuster movie" episodes, according to the Duffer brothers.

Meanwhile, the season 5 premiere title, aka 'The Crawl', was unveiled in mid-2022 and sparked four big theories on what Stranger Things 5's first episode title could mean. The other seven were unveiled last November and you can check out their titles, plus any confirmed runtimes, below:

• Episode 1 – The Crawl (68 minutes)
• Episode 2 – The Vanishing Of [Redacted] (54 minutes)
• Episode 3 – The Turnbow Trap (66 minutes)
• Episode 4 – Sorcerer (83 minutes)
• Episode 5 – Shock Jock (TBC)
• Episode 6 – Escape From Camazotz (TBC)
• Episode 7 – The Bridge (TBC)
• Episode 8 – The Rightside Up (TBC)

Stranger Things season 5 story synopsis and speculation

Full spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 4. Potential season 5 spoilers are also discussed.

Here's Stranger Things season 5's plot brief: "The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But, he has vanished – his whereabouts and plans unknown.

"Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming – and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone – the full party – standing together, one last time."

That's a pretty lengthy story synopsis, but it doesn't actually remind us what happened in its forebear's final chapter. It's also been over three years since last season ended, so read my Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 ending explained piece to refresh your memory.

Done? Great, let's look at what else the Duffer brothers and the show's cast have teased about Stranger Things 5.

"Our characters are going after Vecna from minute one," Ross Duffer told Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 unlocked episode in July 2022. "We have a lot to do, in terms of a few more revelations, and also we need to make sure we give our characters time to make these final arcs."

To put a stop to his world-ending plan, the show's main characters are already assembled in Hawkins so, while they'll break into smaller groups to cover as much ground as possible, they're still effectively working together.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Duffer said that was an intentional creative decision, adding: "We want to go back to a lot things we did in season 1 and a lot of the original groupings and pairings that we had."

Vecna, who was severely injured in the season 4 finale, will be far from a pushover in its follow-up, though.

"We’ve been calling him Vecna 2.0, because he’s changed," Matt Duffer told Empire magazine. "He’s stronger and scarier than ever, with new real-world abilities. In Season 4, he was deadly because he could infiltrate your mind and manipulate you in that manner. Now, he can kick your ass in truly violent ways, like Freddy [Kreuger] on steroids."

As season 5's final trailer teased, Vecna will finally get his hands – via his telekinetic powers, anyway – on the Upside Down's most famous victim in Will Byers.

It sounds like Will, erm, will have a huge role to play this season, with Noah Schnapp telling Vogue: "There’s a lot in store for Will. It ties back to where it begins, full circle. I’m excited for fans to see where we wrap his character. I think they’ll be really pleased, but also shocked."

Elaborating further in a chat with US magazine, Schnapp said Will is the "center point" of Stranger Things 5, before revealing (via Forbes) that the whole show "ends with Will".

Ross Duffer corroborated Schnapp's comments in conversation with Variety, adding: "Will really takes center stage again. This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality – it’s Will coming into his own as a young man."

As for other subplots that need resolving, we should find out why the Upside Down is seemingly stuck in 1984. We still don't have all the answers – outside of what's revealed in prequel stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow – about this realm. We're also in the dark about why it's spookier and more dingy than the realm Henry Creel first traveled to, or what The Mind Flayer really is. Ross Duffer (per Stranger Things season 4 volume 2's unlocked episode) claims those queries will be answered.

There's also the loose end concerning number eight – aka Kali Prasad. We haven't seen Kali since season 2 and, unlike every other test subject under Doctor Brenner's supervision (who had telekinetic abilities), she had different powers. Why was she the odd one out? And will we see her again?

Who could die in Stranger Things season 5?

As far as I'm concerned, anybody. Stranger Things season 5 sounds like it'll be the deadliest yet, which implies some main characters will perish.

One character whose fate is very uncertain is Max Mayfield. She was left in a coma after Vecna almost killed her in season 4 episode 8 and, as both trailers have shown, she's still unconscious when this season begins.

Before filming commenced on season 5, Sadie Sink, who plays her, said she was in the dark about Max's fate. You can read our thoughts on how Max's story could go one of two ways in Stranger Things season 5.

There are plenty more candidates who might not make it out alive. Eleven could sacrifice herself by using her powers to destroy Vecna and the Upside Down for good. Hopper might give his life to save Eleven so she has an actual life to lead if our heroes succeed, too.

And what about Steve, who was originally supposed to die in season 1 but, due to his ongoing fan popularity, was kept around? Will he finally perish in the fight to end Vecna, or is he one of those who'll surprisingly make it to the end of the show? We'll know for sure once season 5 ends. Speaking of which...

How will Stranger Things season 5 end?

Nobody outside of the cast and crew know, but that hasn't stopped them dropping some hints about the series' last-ever installment.

For starters, the Duffers confirmed they rewrote parts of season 5 (per Netflix Tudum) based on fan feedback, which means it'll end in a different way than originally intended. Thankfully, nothing about season 5's concluding chapter has appeared online, even after Netflix reportedly suffered a major Stranger Things 5 leak in February. For now, then, its biggest secrets are still being kept under wraps.

"It [the season 5 finale] is going to be Return of the King-ish with eight endings," Matt Duffer told a July 2022 edition of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "If you just watch Return of the King, it feels like too many endings. [But] if you watch all of them back-to-back, which I’ve done multiple times, it’s exactly right. If it were any shorter, it would feel cheap and wrong."

Stranger Things season 5 won't answer every question, either. After all, the Duffers have retconned some early season plot points in later instalments (via Variety), and the pair have since suggested some loose plot threads will be left dangling.

"We didn’t want to tie everything into a perfect bow," Ross Duffer teased in a chat with Empire. "But, I think we answer most questions and resolve every arc. It was our intention to write a definitive ending to this story."

Adding to his brother's comments in a Variety profile piece, Matt Duffer said: "We do every last remaining thing we wanted to do with the Demogorgons and Mind Flayer and Vecna and the Upside Down and Hawkins and these characters. This is a complete story. It’s done."

And what of the show's last-ever episode? Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, told NME it'll be a "satisfying" and "cathartic" final chapter, while Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, told People.com that he was "satisfied... confused... and sad" about it.

David Harbour also told THR that the series' final episode is "the best episode they [the Duffers] have done" before teasing how tear-jerking it is. Have a box of tissues at the ready, everyone!

The future of Stranger Things

Stranger Thing 5 is the end of the mainline show, but other projects have expanded and will continue to flesh out its universe.

The first – a stage play titled Stranger Things: The First Shadow – is set in 1959 and tells the tale of the Creel Family's arrival in Hawkins. It's currently playing on Broadway and, based on a huge plot point it contains, The First Shadow's big lore reveal will need addressing in season 5 for anyone who doesn't get the chance to see it.

Meanwhile, an animated spin-off called Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is due out sometime in 2026 and will feature a new supernatural threat for Eleven and company to deal with. Tales From 85's first trailer, voice cast, and release window were all revealed for Stranger Things Day 2025 in November. A live-action spin-off, which Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard has correctly guessed the outline of, is also in development.

Wherever the franchise goes next, it'll largely be without the Duffer brothers. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the siblings have signed a four-year deal with Paramount, thus bringing their association with Netflix to a close.

Other Netflix projects of theirs, Stranger Things or otherwise, will still launch on the platform. They'll be involved as executive producers on future Stranger Things productions, too. Once their Netflix contracts end in April 2026, though, it'll be up to other creatives to lead the charge with this franchise.

For more Netflix-based coverage, read our guides on Bridgerton season 4, One Piece season 2, 3 Body Problem season 2, and Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2.