'Stranger Things' Season 5 Trailer: The Final Battle Begins This November—Here's Everything We Know

The wait is finally over. After what feels like a lifetime since Season 4 wrapped up, Netflix has unleashed the full trailer for Stranger Things Season 5—and it's everything fans hoped for and feared. The nearly three-minute preview dropped on October 30, 2025, perfectly timed for Halloween, and it delivers an emotional gut-punch that confirms this final chapter will be the biggest, darkest, and most devastating yet. If you've been living under a rock (or perhaps in the Upside Down), here's what you need to know: the fifth and final season premieres with Volume 1 on November 26, bringing us four episodes to kick off the end of the Hawkins saga. But before you settle in for a Thanksgiving binge, let's break down everything revealed in this trailer—and why fans are already bracing for heartbreak. The Stakes Have Never Been Higher The trailer opens with a haunting reminder of where we left off. It's fall 1987, and Hawkins, Indiana, is no longer the quiet suburban town where this supernatural nightmare began. The Rifts have torn open, scarring the landscape and turning the once-peaceful community into a military quarantine zone. The government has descended on the town with overwhelming force, and they're not there to help—they're hunting Eleven. Our beloved group of nerds-turned-heroes are united by a single, desperate mission: find Vecna and kill him once and for all. But there's a problem. The malevolent entity who terrorized them throughout Season 4 has vanished. His whereabouts are unknown. His plans remain a mystery. And as the anniversary of Will Byers' original disappearance approaches—the event that started this entire saga back in 2016—a familiar dread settles over Hawkins like a dark cloud. The official synopsis promises that this final battle will bring "a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before." To survive it, they'll need everyone—the full party—standing together one last time. Based on this trailer, that's exactly what we're getting. Will Byers: From Victim to Vecna's Final Target Perhaps the most chilling moment in the trailer comes in its closing seconds. Vecna emerges from the shadows, his grotesque form filling the screen as he delivers a bone-chilling line: "William, you are going to help me, one last time." We then see Will Byers—the boy whose disappearance into the Upside Down kicked off this entire story—levitating helplessly as Vecna exerts control over him. Surrounded by flames and military casualties, Will is brought within inches of the monster's face. It's a visual callback to the show's origins that hits like a freight train: Stranger Things appears to be ending the same way it began, with Will Byers in mortal danger. Noah Schnapp's character has always been central to the show's mythology, even when he wasn't front and center. His connection to the Upside Down, established way back in Season 1 and reinforced throughout subsequent seasons, has been building toward something significant. This trailer suggests that connection will play a crucial role in the final showdown. Whether Will becomes Vecna's ultimate weapon or the key to his defeat remains to be seen—but either way, the stakes for this character have never been higher. Eleven's New Powers and Linda Hamilton's Mysterious Dr. Kay One of the trailer's most jaw-dropping moments shows Eleven doing something we've never seen before: flying. The scene depicts Millie Bobby Brown's character soaring through the air, apparently trying to breach a structure surrounded by a towering metal fence. Fans immediately lit up social media with reactions ranging from "ELEVEN CAN FLY?!" to speculation about what other powers she might have developed. This revelation comes as the government intensifies its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. Leading that search is a mysterious new character, Dr. Kay, played by none other than Terminator legend Linda Hamilton. While details about Dr. Kay remain scarce, Hamilton's casting suggests this character will be formidable—possibly a scientist with knowledge of Eleven's origins or someone with her own supernatural agenda. The footage shows Eleven using every power in her arsenal to take down Vecna, suggesting we'll see her abilities pushed to their absolute limits. After spending Season 4 rebuilding her powers following the loss at the end of Season 3, it appears Eleven is more powerful than ever—which is good news, because she's going to need every ounce of that strength. The Full Party Returns: Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Steve, and More The emotional core of Stranger Things has always been its ensemble cast, and the trailer makes clear that everyone who matters will be part of this final stand. We see Mike Wheeler in leadership mode, giving the gang a rousing pep talk as they prepare to "end this, once and for all." Finn Wolfhard's character has taken it upon himself to help plan missions and unite the group for what could be their last adventure together. The original quartet—Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas—stand together in one powerful shot that's guaranteed to make longtime fans emotional. Seeing these boys, who we first met as middle schoolers in 2016, now as young adults facing down the ultimate evil, drives home just how much time has passed both in the show's universe and our own world. Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson share a sweet (albeit terrified) hug in another moment that tugs at the heartstrings. Their unlikely friendship has been one of the show's most beloved relationships, and this tender moment suggests both characters understand the magnitude of what they're facing. Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, Hopper, Robin, Lucas, Erica, Murray, and the rest of the extended Hawkins family all make appearances, reinforcing that this truly is an "all hands on deck" situation. Max's Fate Hangs in the Balance Sadie Sink's character remains in a Vecna-induced coma following the devastating events of Season 4's finale. In an interview attached to the trailer release, Sink acknowledged that Max is "definitely not the way she once was" after her final moments in Season 4 left her in a hospital bed. Eleven searched for her consciousness in the Void and couldn't find her, suggesting Max exists in some liminal state between life and death. However, there's "still a small glimmer of hope," according to Sink, "and her friends are hanging on to that." The trailer doesn't reveal much about Max's condition, but her fate will undoubtedly be a major emotional throughline of the final season. After surviving Vecna's attack—barely—will Max find her way back to the living world, or will her sacrifice be part of the price paid to defeat this ancient evil? A Staggered Release Schedule and Theatrical Finale Netflix is pulling out all the stops for Stranger Things' swan song. Rather than dropping all episodes at once, the streamer is releasing Season 5 in three volumes across the year's final major holidays. Volume 1 (episodes 1-4) arrives November 26 at 8 p.m. ET, giving families something intense to watch over Thanksgiving weekend. Volume 2 (episodes 5-7) follows on Christmas Day, December 25. Then, in an unprecedented move, the series finale—episode 8—drops on New Year's Eve, December 31, and will simultaneously premiere in select movie theaters. This theatrical release represents a Netflix first, acknowledging that Stranger Things has transcended typical streaming content to become a cultural phenomenon worthy of the big-screen treatment. Watching the final chapter of this saga on a theater screen with fellow fans could be an unforgettable communal experience—the perfect sendoff for a show that defined a generation. The End of an Era Looking at this trailer, it's impossible not to feel the weight of finality. This is one of Netflix's biggest originals ever, a show that helped define the streaming era and sparked countless conversations, theories, and Halloween costumes. The Duffer Brothers have promised that all remaining questions will be answered, and based on this preview, they're planning to go out with the explosive, emotionally devastating bang this story deserves. The marketing blitz for Season 5 has been massive, and rightly so. Quotes from cast members and creators attached to the trailer reveal a production that understood the assignment: deliver an ending that honors eight years of storytelling while pushing our heroes to their breaking point. Military casualties litter the battlefields. Characters we love share what might be their final moments together. And Vecna—patient, calculating, and more powerful than ever—waits in the shadows with a plan that could spell doom for everyone. Will some of our heroes die? Almost certainly. This is a final season facing an enemy who's already proven he can kill beloved characters. Jonathan, Steve, Hopper—multiple characters felt positioned for potential sacrifice in Season 4, and this trailer suggests those fears weren't unfounded. The Duffer Brothers have never shied away from consequences, and this ending promises to deliver them in heartbreaking fashion. Get ready, nerds. November 26 can't come soon enough—but based on this trailer, we might not be emotionally prepared for what's coming. The final battle is here, and Hawkins will never be the same.