Netflix recently released the final supersized episodes of Stranger Things Season 4, adding to a season that clocked in at over 13 hours across Volumes 1 and 2. So, should fans expect more of the same for the fifth and final season?
According to the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, the run-time for Season 5 won’t be as long as its predecessor. In an interview with Collider, Ross and Matt Duffer confirmed that the next season will have shorter episodes, though it is still expected to be longer overall than any of the show’s first three seasons.
“We thought Season 4 was going to be eight [episodes], and they were going to be regular length. So if you had interviewed us before four, that’s what I would’ve said,” Matt said. “I think we’re aiming for eight again. We don’t want it to be 13 hours. We’re aiming for more like 10 hours or something. I think it’s going to be longer than Season 1 because we just have so much to wrap up, but I don’t think it’s going to be as long as Season 4.”
Matt added to this when speaking to the Happy Sad Confused podcast, noting, “The only reason we don’t expect [Season 5] to be as long is, this season, if you look at it, it’s almost a two-hour ramp up before our kids really get drawn into a supernatural mystery. You get to know them, you get to see them in their lives, they’re struggling with adapting to high school… Steve’s trying to find a date, all of that. None of that is obviously going to be occurring [in Season 5].”
That said, viewers should expect to see another mammoth-sized finale. “However, look for the series finale to be as long as a feature film,” Matt continued. “We’re more likely to do what we did here, which is to just have a 2.5 hour episode.”
Season 4 ended with all the main characters back in Hawkins as the Upside Down began to infect the cursed town. This means that the final season is going to get straight into the action.
“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,” Matt stated. “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.”
Stranger Things, Season 4, Streaming, Netflix