'Stranger Things' season 5: The countdown begins

The eagerly awaited final season of Netflix's Stranger Things is nearing its release. 

After pandemic delays and Hollywood strikes pushed production back, Season 5 is now expected to arrive in 2025, a year earlier than initially thought.

Production kicked off in January 2024 and reached its halfway point in July. The season will consist of eight episodes, with Netflix revealing the episode titles on Stranger Things Day (November 6, 2024).

Stranger Things Season 5 episode titles:

1. "The Crawl"

2. "The Vanishing Of"

3. "The Turnbow Trap"

4. "Sorcerer"

5. "Shock Jock"

6. "Escape From Camazotz"

7. "The Bridge"

8. "The Rightside Up"

A teaser clip promises "one last adventure" beginning in the fall of 1987, confirming a time jump over a year after Season 4's events.

New characters and cast members

Season 5 welcomes new cast members Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux, alongside core cast members Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, and more. Linda Hamilton joins the cast, but her role remains under wraps.

Max and Eddie's fates

Sadie Sink's character Max Mayfield's fate remains uncertain, but Sink revealed she'll be "running in some way" in Season 5. Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson, however, is likely deceased, although Quinn hinted at a possible return.

Behind-the-scenes

The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont comes out of retirement to direct Season 5, alongside the Duffer brothers and Shawn Levy.

'The Stranger Things' universe expands

While Season 5 marks the series' conclusion, the universe will continue through the stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow and an upcoming animated spinoff series.

"In the fall of 1987, one last adventure begins," the teaser clip promises.

"If season 4 was big, season 5 definitely feels bigger," Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) said in a behind-the-scenes video.