Netflix’s Stranger Things is preparing to close out its supernatural saga with an epic final season. During its Tudum 2025 global fan event on May 31, Netflix revealed the long-awaited premiere dates for Stranger Things Season 5, which will be released in three dramatic parts — and fans won’t have to wait too long.
Season 5 Release Dates Revealed
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things will unfold across three separate volumes:
- Volume 1: November 26, 2025
- Volume 2: December 25, 2025 (Christmas Day)
- Series Finale: December 31, 2025 (New Year’s Eve)
This trilogy-style rollout will bring the show to a close in grand fashion, giving fans a final adventure that spans the holiday season.
Original Cast Returns, New Faces Join the Fight
All core cast members are returning for the final chapter. That includes:
- Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers)
- David Harbour (Jim Hopper)
- Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven)
- Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler)
- Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson)
- Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair)
- Noah Schnapp (Will Byers)
- Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield)
- Joe Keery (Steve Harrington)
- Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler)
- Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers)
- Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley)
- Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman)
- Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair)
- Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna)
Linda Hamilton, best known for her iconic role in The Terminator franchise, joins the ensemble in a mysterious new role. Other newcomers include Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux.
A Glimpse Into the Final Storyline
The season picks up after the catastrophic events of Season 4, which ended with Max in a coma and the town of Hawkins on the brink of collapse as the Upside Down began bleeding into reality. While Vecna was injured, he’s still a powerful threat, and the danger in Hawkins has never been more severe.
Season 5 will leap forward in time, with the teaser revealing that the story is now set in the fall of 1987, one year after the events of the previous season. This marks a significant jump from Season 4’s spring 1986 setting.
The final episode of the season — and series — is titled “The Rightside Up,” a poetic bookend to the Season 1 finale, “The Upside Down.”
Cast Shares Emotional Reflections
At the Tudum event, actors Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp shared their favorite memories and excitement for the upcoming season. Co-stars Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo also appeared in heartfelt pre-recorded messages, thanking fans for their support over the years.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Maya Hawke described filming the final season as “heartbreaking,” adding, “It’s the end of a really long journey. It’s really sentimental… It’s a really fun thing to do, but also really emotional.”
Sadie Sink, whose character Max has become central to the narrative, was tight-lipped when asked about Season 5. However, she teased to Variety: “They love having me run. That’s all I’ll say.” The Duffer Brothers hinted at her pivotal role despite her character’s comatose state, with Ross Duffer revealing that Sink recently filmed a particularly “heartbreaking” scene.
Production Timeline and Beyond the Series
Netflix began filming Season 5 in early 2024, officially wrapping up by year’s end. A black-and-white cast photo shared in January confirmed that all major characters were back on set. With the story entering its final arc, the Duffers have promised a season that is both thrilling and emotionally resonant.
Though the main series is concluding, the Stranger Things universe continues to expand. The stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which debuted in London in 2023, transferred to Broadway in 2025, exploring the lore of Hawkins in new ways.
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