Series creators the Duffer Brothers explain what they've lined up for the final season of the Netflix series - but bear in mind that this could all change.
Matt and Ross Duffer say that 'Stranger Things' season five will probably be shorter in length than that bumper season four we all excitedly trawled through these past couple of months, and the season will hit the ground running.
Clocking in at around 13 hours altogether, spread across nine episodes, this was the longest-ever season of the sci-fi hit. But will the final fifth season be longer? Well, right now it's not looking like it will be - but never say never.
Speaking on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast with Josh Horowitz, the creators dished out their plans for the upcoming season, envisioning that the finale of the entire franchise will more than likely have a similar length to season four's two-hour and 20-minute spectacle: "Where the penultimate episode is the strong episode and then they wind down on the last one. We’re more likely to do what we did here which is to just have a 2.5-hour episode. I would expect the finale to be at least two hours."
Due to there being such a such big gap between seasons three and four release dates, this extra catch-up time at the top of the season won't be necessary for season five. In fact, season four is the only season to truly lead into another season, so don't expect much of an introduction back to the characters as they'll be hitting the ground running in order to finally set Hawkins straight.
"Characters are already going to be in action, they’re already going to have a goal and a drive, and I think that’s going to carve out at least a couple hours and make this season feel really different. I’m sure the wrap-up will be a lot longer, it’s going to be 'Return of the King'-ish with, like, eight endings."
Or course, all of the action will be contained inside of Hawkins for 'Stranger Things' season five, with the brothers knowing exactly how it's all going to end. The difficult part is how to get there.
"At the moment, we feel pretty confident about [our ending]. So while a lot of season five is actually pretty blurry, the last 30 minutes of it are pretty clear in our heads. So if we can make the journey entertaining, I think that we have an end that will hopefully satisfy. You can’t satisfy everyone, but the hope is that it’s something that feels right for this story."
Matt Duffer concluded that although this "shorter" season is their current plan, everything could change. He added: "You know, if you had talked to us at the start of writing [season four], I would’ve told you it’s eight episodes and they’re about an hour long each, so I wouldn’t trust a word that comes out of my mouth."
'Stranger Things' season four is available to stream on Netflix.
