The end is nearly upon us. Netflix has shared the first five minutes of the forthcoming final season of Stranger Things, teasing a climatic battle between the town of Hawkins and Vecna.
In the clip, a young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is back in the Upside Down, where he was sent in Season 1, and he’s being stalked by its terrifying monsters. He is eventually captured by Vecna, who intones, “At long last, we can begin. You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together, William. Such beautiful things.”
The disconcerting scene offers a glimpse of what actually happened to Will while he was trapped for most of Season 1 and suggests that Will may still be impacted by whatever Vecna put inside him at the beginning of the story.
Stranger Things will wrap up this fall with a two-part season, the first half premiering on Netflix Nov. 26 and the second half dropping on Christmas. The fifth and final season takes place in 1987, four years after the events of the first season and nearing the anniversary of Will’s disappearance. The first four episodes of the season will be part of the November Volume 1 drop while three more will premiere on Christmas. However, there will still be a two-hour final event left to be released on New Year’s Eve. Timed with the Netflix drop will be a theatrical release of the final episode for fans to watch in real life with other fans.
“I think what’s unique about this season is that it starts a little bit in chaos because our heroes ultimately lost at the end of Season 4,” co-creator Ross Duffer said in a statement. “We usually set up their normal life and how they’re going about school, and then we introduce the supernatural element. But in this case, this season is sprinting from the start.”
Shawn Levy, executive producer and director, added, “The action is next level, the visual effects are next level, but I’m also happy to say that the emotional center remains the same. And part of the magic of this show is that even as we evolve, even as the storytelling becomes more epic, it’s always anchored in these characters that we love.”
The cast for Season 5 also includes Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawk, and Jamie Campbell Bower.
