Stranger Things is a global phenomenon that took the world by storm when it first debuted in July 2016 on Netflix. And since then the show has just gotten bigger, in more ways than one. The fanbase, the case, and also the production and writing scale of it. Now with Stranger Things season 5, aka the final season, it sounds like things are growing even more. And I didn't think that was possible!
Robin Buckley actress Maya Hawke joined the Podcrushed podcast as a guest recently and told hosts Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin, and Sophie Ansari that the fifth and final season of the large-scale sci-fi drama is "basically eight movies. The episodes are very long." For those who need a refresher, season 5 will have a total of 8 episodes to conclude the story.
So basically what Hawke is saying is that each episode of the next installment is movie-length! That's nothing new as the final two episodes of Stranger Things season 4 were just that. Episode 9, "Papa" comes in at around 1 hour and 20 minutes while the finale, "The Piggyback" is a whooping 2 hours and 15 minutes. That's actually even longer than most films. It's crazy!
And that was just the final two episodes of the season. But I can tell you they actually go by very quickly and it doesn't feel like you've been sitting there for that long. But now apparently, every episode of the final season of the hit Netflix series is going to be that long. Wow! Filming and editing this show already takes so long, and now it's definitely no surprise that's going to be the case with season 5.
Hawke also shared that filming will take about one year to complete. Production started in January 2024. Right now the plan is to get the new season out by 2025. Let's hope that's the case! Because depending on when in 2025, it will be three years between seasons 4 and 5. Hopefully the Duffer Brothers - who are the creators, showrunners, and writers of the show - will be able to edit all the episodes on time.
The fourth season was actually split into two parts, with the last two episodes coming out a little more than a month apart from the rest of the season because they didn't finish post-production in time due to the length of those episodes. It's also because the Duffers are very critical. Which honestly is the reason why Stranger Things is such good quality all around. So it is difficult for us fans to wait. Believe me, I know. But I least we know it's because the creative team is working to put out top notch quality. And that's all we can ask for. I'm so ready for Stranger Things season 5! Are you?
Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.