Though Netflix won’t be serving any Vecna until Thanksgiving, the latest full helping of a series trailer makes for quite the meal… it does not disappoint, with chills, thrills… and the return of Will (singular).
The wait is almost over. Looks like we’ll be serving Vecna this Thanksgiving.
The long, arduous, sometimes convoluted but always exciting journey of our favorite nerdy kids from Hawkins, Indiana comes to an action-packed end as the fifth and final season of Stranger Things finally hits Netflix. And a heap of images we share below.
In 3 batches, actually: Episodes 1-4 debut November 26, Episodes 5-7 on Christmas Day, and the grand finale, Episode 8 on New Year’s Day.
Picking up in the fall of 1987, Stranger Things 5 finds the town scarred by the opening of the rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: to find and kill Vecna.
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.
The show stars Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay).
According to Ross Duffer, co-creator, EP, writer and director, “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. 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.”
“They’re not experiencing normal life,” added brother Matt Duffer, also the co-creator, EP, writer and director. “Nothing in Hawkins is normal anymore…their movement is restricted, and there are Big Brother cameras everywhere. So not only are they active — their everyday, normal lives are anything but.”
Shawn Levy, EP 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.”
VFX studios on the new season include BigHug FX, BOT VFX, Clear Angle Studios, Crafty Apes, Cureated, FutureWorks Media, ILM, Proof Inc., Rodeo FX, and Wētā FX.
Created by The Duffer Brothers, the show is produced by Upside Down Pictures & 21 Laps Entertainment with The Duffer Brothers serving as executive producers, alongside Levy of 21 Laps Entertainment and Dan Cohen. Cohen and Iain Patterson also executive produce.
Source: Netflix
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
