Stranger Things Season 5 Episodes 4 and 8 ‘Are Like Movies,’ Showrunner Clarifies, but ‘Every Runtime I’ve Seen Posted Online Is Inaccurate’

Expect big things from Stranger Things Season 5 Episodes 4 and 8 — like movie big things. That’s according to co-showrunner Matt Duffer, who has discussed in vague terms the runtime of the final season’s episodes.

Stranger Things 5, as Netflix calls it, releases on the streamer across three premiere dates, with Volume 1 on November 26 (four episodes), Volume 2 on Christmas (three episodes), and The Finale on New Year’s Eve. Each volume releases at 5pm PT. That makes for eight episodes total.

The runtime of each has been a point of interest among fans for some time now, with conflicting reports sparking a great deal of speculation. Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley in Stranger Things, said during an episode of Podcrushed last year that Season 5 will be “basically eight movies” with “very long” episodes, but Finn Wolfhard told Collider in January that “not every episode is like a full-blown movie, but there are definitely some episodes this year that the runtime is definitely film-length.”

In an interview with Variety, Stranger Things showrunners and executive producers Matt and Ross Duffer danced around the specifics, but did hype up the Volume 1 ender and the grand finale.

“Episode 4 and Episode 8 are like movies,” Matt Duffer said. “Every runtime I’ve seen posted online is inaccurate.”

Ross Duffer did reveal, however, that Season 5 starts with the series’ much-loved characters hunting for Vecna. “This isn’t going about normal life, and then something supernatural happens to them, which is what we usually do,” he said.

Season 5 is described as “the biggest season we’ve ever had in terms of action, in terms of visual effects, in terms of story.”

Here’s the official blurb on Stranger Things Season 5:

The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.

Season 5 arrives over three years after the finale of Season 4. For more, check out the burning questions we still have from Stranger Things Season 4.

While Stranger Things is coming to an end in terms of its main Netflix series, there’s plenty more from the franchise to look forward to. Stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow made its Broadway debut in April, there’s a Stranger Things animated series that will take fans back to Hawkins in 2026, a collection of books, and the touring Stranger Things Experience. There’s even talk of a Netflix spinoff.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.