Stranger Things Co-Creator Shuts Down Runtime Leaks, Teases Movie-Length Episodes

Enough with the guesswork: the Duffer Brothers have finally clarified the runtimes for Stranger Things season 5, putting the episode-length debate to rest.

Stranger Things 5 rumor patrol time. The internet keeps insisting every episode is a mini-movie and the finale is three hours. The Duffers, once again, say: nope.

About those season 5 runtimes

Co-creator Matt Duffer told Variety that the episode lengths people keep posting are wrong. He did add that this season won’t be short across the board — a couple chapters will go big like season 4 did.

"Every runtime I’ve seen posted online is inaccurate. Episode 4 and episode 8 are like movies."

So yes, expect a couple feature-length entries. No, do not expect every single episode to clear two hours or a finale that hits three. This is not the first time they’ve smacked this down: back in July, Ross Duffer used his Instagram Story to say the circulating numbers were way off.

The format is changing

At Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit in Los Angeles, Ross hinted that the new season won’t start with the familiar routine of normal life in Hawkins getting disrupted. The structure is more direct-from-go. Given where season 4 left things, that tracks.

What the story is actually about

Here’s the gist, pulling from the official synopsis and trailer without the marketing fluff: after the Rifts ripped open, everyone’s rattled and focused on one mission — find Vecna and end him. Problem: he’s gone to ground, and nobody knows what he’s planning. Meanwhile, the government hunt for Eleven intensifies enough that she has to disappear again. As the anniversary of Will’s original vanishing draws near (nice, ominous touch), that familiar Hawkins dread creeps back. The final battle is coming, and the threat is bigger and nastier than anything they’ve faced. Translation: they’re going to need the entire party together for one last stand.

Biggest season yet, according to the team

Netflix just dropped a behind-the-scenes featurette where the Duffer Brothers call season 5 the biggest they’ve ever tackled. Millie Bobby Brown backs that up, saying the whole thing plays more like an all-out adventure and a mission — everyone’s in the field, not hanging back on walkie talkies. Sounds like less setup, more go-time.

When can we watch it

Stranger Things is streaming now on Netflix, and season 5 premieres November 26.