Stranger Things season 5: Duffer brothers share one big change for final episodes

‘It’s going to make the new season feel really different,’ they said

The creators of Stranger Things have revealed one way they will fix the show for its final season.

Netflix released the first volume of the hit show’s fourth season, which will be its penultimate, in May, with the final two episodes arriving earlier this month.

Episodes took viewers longer to binge, though, as the majority of them were given epic runtimes.

Whereas episodes in earlier seasons had clocked in at 50 minutes, the majority of season four’s instalments lasted for approximately one hour, 20 minutes – with the finale clocking in at two hours, 20 minutes.

Reviews for the season have been mostly positive, but this hasn’t stopped fans from agreeeing that each episode could have been shorter.

The show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, have seemingly acknowledged this, telling the Happy Sad Confused podcast that season five will contain shorter episodes.

“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,” they said.

“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 five].

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in ‘Stranger Things’ season four, volume two (Netflix)

But, they did essentially confirm plans to make the final ever outing “a 2.5 hour episode”.

They added that a benefit of the lengthy final episode means everything has been set up when season five begins, stating: “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.

“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”.

Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp, who play Eleven and Will, recently called out the show over a common complaint regarding its treatment of the characters. The Duffer brothers defeatedly addressed this criticism in the new podcast.

Meanwhile, the Duffer brothers dashed fans’ hopes over a common wish for season five, while also sharing the alternate fate of a character killed off in season four should they have made it out alive.

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix now. The final season is expected to be released in 2024.