The long wait for Stranger Things Season 5 continues, and the promise that the final season will arrive in the 2025 TV schedule for fans with a Netflix subscription doesn’t mean that the better part of a year isn’t still left of the long break. That doesn’t mean we should all mope in enough doom and gloom to fill the Upside Down, though, and I’m particularly rejuvenated after what the Duffer Brothers said to clarify their comment about “eight blockbuster films on the way.”
Matt and Ross Duffer were honored at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta with the Variety Showrunner Award for their work as creators, writers, directors, executive producers, and – of course – showrunners of the Netflix show that became a worldwide phenomenon. The ceremony also happened to occur just a week after Ross hyped up a crowd a a Netflix event (via EW), saying “It’s like eight blockbuster movies” and “It’s pretty, pretty insane.”
Considering the length of some of the episodes of Season 4 and particularly the Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 ending, I doubt many fans were surprised by the idea that the final season’s episodes could be blockbuster-length! In the discussion following their SCAD TVfest award – which was presented to them with a lovely speech from cast member Caleb McLaughlin, a.k.a. Lucas – the brothers gave some background to those comments, stating that it just “sounded like a good sound bite” and acknowledging that they “do write quite long episodes.” Matt Duffer went on:
Ross and I do love longer films. We love the special effects sequences, but at the end of the day, obviously, it’s about the character work. And then what I do love about television, even though we were film guys growing up, is I like we’re able to do these huge cinematic special effects, extravaganza sequences. But then we also have a lot of time to spend with the characters, so when they get into the situations that involve the special effects, you deeply care about what’s going to happen to them. You don’t tune out. So often you find yourself tuning out, or I do, in some of these sequences [in blockbusters]. The goal is you’re so invested in the story, and that’s what I found good TV does.
While blockbuster films are certainly fun and there are even those among us who would happily watch eight movies in a row, that’s not really what the Duffer Brothers want to accomplish with the final season. Even though working on the special effects is what they expect to take the longest in 2025, viewers “deeply” caring about the characters in a long-running, serialized TV show matters more.
Of course, most shows don’t need ten years to release five seasons, and the Duffers agreed that it blows their minds to see the kids who grew up on set as adults now. After all, the Eleven actress is married now with a list of upcoming Millie Bobby Brown projects, and even I couldn’t believe from the SCAD TVfest audience how adult Caleb McLaughlin looked when he was giving his speech before presenting the Showrunner Award. (Admittedly, he is 23 and several years older than his Stranger Things character.) Matt Duffer went on:
They are, yes! You kind of forget it about until you look back at Season 1 or you’re gonna put in a flashback and you’re like, ‘Oh my god.’ They’re tiny little guys. But it’s like family now. We’ve grown up with them. That aspect of the show has been really special, and I don’t know if it’s just because there’s a bunch of them, but that they’ve all turned out so well as human beings, because the fear is we’re going to screw up a child by making them famous, and I’m just so proud of how they turned out as people.
The Duffer Brothers haven’t been spoiling many details about Season 5, so I’m going to hold on to the morsel of them mentioning flashbacks to Season 1! It’s certainly better than nothing, and I’m already more excited about the final season after the clarification that it’s not really going to feel like eight blockbuster films. This is a TV show, after all, and fans haven’t been watching for four seasons just because of movie-length episodes. In fact, the first two seasons are arguably the most beloved, and they were the least cinematic of the four.
And in more good news, the brothers confirmed that they started back in January on the “digital effects sequences,” and it’s going well enough that they’re “actually ahead of schedule, which is rare for us.” So, whether than means the final season will be ready in time for the nine-year anniversary of Season 1 in July, by November as a nod to when the first season took place, or December 31st at 12:01 a.m., the goal of 2025 seems reachable.
For now, fans can always revisit the first four seasons streaming on Netflix. With how long the fourth season episodes really were, they can be rewatched at leisure without needing to binge and avoid any spoilers this time around!
