"Stranger Things 5" Official Teaser Trailer: The Final Battle Begins as Hawkins Faces the End in Netflix’s Epic Closing Chapter
With the Upside Down breaking through and Vecna back for revenge, Eleven, Hopper, and the gang reunite for one last fight in a high-stakes, three-part farewell to the series that defined a generation.
It seems like forever Stranger Things fans have been waiting for its fifth and final season. That’s perhaps because it has been a long time coming, with the writers' and actors' strikes pushing production dates even further... not to mention delays already caused by the pandemic.
Further complicating things are tight schedules, as most of the cast have now fostered significant film careers. David Harbour was just recently seen earlier this year becoming an unlikely superhero in Marvel’s latest Thunderbolts, while Millie Bobby Brown has created her own little film franchise with Netflix, with Enola Holmes 3 in production, following starring vehicles like this year’s The Electric State and last year’s Damsel, both Netflix exclusives.
Sadie Sink has also gone on to star in critically acclaimed indie dramas and high-profile projects, including Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale and this year’s post-apocalyptic rock musical O’Dessa (out on Hulu). Sink is also rumored to be the top contender to play Jean Grey in the MCU’s forthcoming X-Men reboot.
Meanwhile, Finn Wolfhard has only gotten more prolific, starring in the Ghostbusters blockbusters Afterlife and Frozen Empire, while also continuing his work behind the camera as a budding writer-director after making his co-directorial debut last year with the slasher horror comedy Hell of a Summer.
Both Joe Keery and Maya Hawke have also seen their profiles rise significantly. And both have carved out a unique path in both acting and music, with Keery maintaining a successful indie music career under the moniker Djo, while Hawke earned praise for her recent indie folk rock record Chaos Angel, her third studio album.
Yes, it seems the kids have all grown up, and the show that once introduced them as small-town misfits battling supernatural forces has now become a launching pad for some of the biggest rising stars in Hollywood. Which is to say, it makes the wait for Season Five all the more bittersweet—an end to the story we’ve followed for nearly a decade, and a farewell to the characters who’ve grown up right alongside us.
But before they say goodbye to Hawkins for good, there’s one last chapter to tell. And Stranger Things: Season 5 (or simply, Stranger Things 5) is finally gearing up for its debut later this year, and at long last, we’re getting a peek at those final episodes.
And if this teaser trailer is any indication, Stranger Things 5 promises to go out with a bang, as the stakes seem to be higher, the danger more personal, and the Upside Down is closer than ever.
“Wherever this blood leads,” David Harbour mutters as former Hawkins chief Jim Hopper, looking pretty scruffy, armed with an automatic rifle, donning a thick bushy beard and black knitted cap. He seems to be talking to his adoptive daughter Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), now older but more determined than ever for whatever awaits them.
“I need you to fight one last time.”
Hopper might as well be talking to the whole Hawkins gang, as it seems they’re heading toward one final confrontation with Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), the supernatural supervillain behind the Upside Down.
He ends his rallying cry with a serious whisper: “Let’s end this, kid…”
Noticeably, the cast looks much older (and taller). Certainly compared to Season One, when they were literally babies. But it’s been nearly a decade since the original launch. And who would have thought those times were much more innocent?
Netflix is now a powerhouse, and a whole industry unto itself. And the idea of streaming shows was once seen as a novelty—something experimental, maybe even temporary. But Stranger Things changed that. It wasn’t just a hit series; it was a cultural phenomenon that helped define what prestige streaming television could be. The show helped turn the concept of binge-watching into a global TV ritual.
Fans everywhere were sucked into the journeys of Joyce (Winona Ryder), Hopper (Harbour), Mike (Wolfhard), Eleven (Brown), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), Max (Sink), Steve (Keery), Robin (Hawke), and the rest of the Hawkins crew—not only because of the monsters they faced, but also because of the friendship and heart at the center of it all.
And as we mentioned before, the cast has gone on to become some of the most in-demand actors working today. And it’s a little bittersweet to have watched them over the years as they saw Hawkins become ground zero for interdimensional terror, all while forced to grow up faster than anyone should.
The show caught lightning in a bottle. And now, it's finally ready to bring its story to a close.
As per usual, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer (aka The Duffer Brothers) are handling the majority of the writing and directing for this final season. However, fans can also expect executive producer Shawn Levy to direct an episode, while Oscar-nominated filmmaker Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Walking Dead) is jumping aboard to direct two episodes—marking his first directorial effort in 12 years.
Terminator icon Linda Hamilton will be joining the fray, keeping with the show’s ongoing homages to ‘80s cinema, while Amybeth McNulty will be back as Vickie, Robin’s potential love interest. Returning cast members also include Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Priah Ferguson, and Brett Gelman.
Season 5 will only consist of eight episodes, but they’ll feature longer runtimes than usual—some even stretching into feature-length territory. The final season will also be split into three parts:
Volume 1 premieres Wednesday, November 26th
Volume 2 is set to debut on Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th
And the finale episode will arrive on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, December 31st.
Official Synopsis:
Every battle has led to this.
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.
