Stranger Things returned in a blaze of glory at the end of May.
The Netflix juggernaut had everything fans wanted and more, but the episodes were much longer than the previous seasons.
Creators and showrunners Ross and Matt Duffer have revealed that Stranger Things Season 5 — the final season — will return to shorter runtimes for the most part.
“The only reason we don’t expect 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,” the duo teased on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast.
“You get to know them, you get to see them in their lives, they’re struggling with adapting to high school and so forth, Steve’s trying to find a date, all of that.”
“None of that is obviously going to be occurring [in season 5],” Matt said.
“However, look for the series finale to be as long as a feature film.
“We’re more likely to do what we did here, which is to just have a 2.5 hour episode.”
The series will pick up where Stranger Things Season 4 left off.
“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 continued.
“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.”
Netflix confirmed earlier this year that the series would end with its fifth season, and given the way Stranger Things Season 4 wrapped, it makes sense.
The lines between the Upside Down and Hawkins are no longer blurred, and Vecna is well and truly ready for the next phase of his master plan.
Naturally, the characters must prepare for a battle of epic proportions.
What are your thoughts on shorter episodes?
Would you prefer them?
Hit the comments.
Stream the first four seasons on Netflix.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
