'It's our biggest and most ambitious season yet'. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Stranger Things season 5 is, unsurprisingly, shaping up to be the hit series' biggest entry yet – but I don't think any of us realized how much footage was shot. The short answer? A lot. Like, a lot a lot. That's according to the massively successful Netflix show's creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who have revealed they filmed more than 650 hours of material for Stranger Things' final season.

The siblings, who are collectively known as the Duffer brothers (shocking, I know) confirmed as much at Next on Netflix 2025. Taking to the stage during the Los Angeles edition of this year's multinational event, the duo tentatively lifted the lid on season 5's development, which included the fascinating tidbit on the hundreds of hours of footage they collected during its 12-month shoot. "We spent a full year filming this season," Ross Duffer said. "By the end, we’d captured over 650 hours of footage. So, needless to say, this is our biggest and most ambitious season yet.".

Echoing Stranger Things star Maya Hawke's previous comments that season 5 will be "basically, eight movies", the Duffers also teased that the sci-fi horror series' final chapter may emotionally devastate us when Stranger Things season 5 launches later this year. "We think it's our most personal story," Matt Duffer added. "It was super intense and emotional to film – for us and for our actors. We’ve been making this show together for almost 10 years. There was a lot of crying. There was SO much crying. The show means so much to all of us, and everyone put their hearts and souls into it. And we hope – and believe – that passion will translate to the screen.".

Potential spoilers follow for Stranger Things season 5. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. As I mentioned at the start of this article, the Duffer brothers also debuted a tantalizing new look at Stranger Things 5 during Next on Netflix 2025. Just like the Stranger Things season 5 video that was unveiled during Netflix Tudum 2024 and the first-look teaser released online last July that teased new characters and a possible time jump, though, it was just another behind-the-scenes (BTS) look at the forthcoming installment.

That doesn't mean it wasn't worth showing, mind you. I attended the UK edition of Next on Netflix and, with the video being livestreamed to me and other audience members from LA, I can report on what was shown. For starters, the latest BTS video gave us a look at the returning Vecna, who appears to have recovered from the injuries he sustained in last season's finale (read my Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 ending explained piece for more details).

The footage also showed Eleven wearing baggy clothes – presumably in a bid to conceal her identity – and using her supernatural abilities to fight some actors in mocap suits who are running on all fours. Are these individuals acting out the movements for the return of season 2's demodogs? I imagine so. There were also blink-and-you'll-miss-it clips of Max running through The Void, Hopper brandishing a shotgun, someone screaming as they're seemingly attacked by Vecna (it was hard to make out who this was), and some of our heroes interacting with season 5's newcomers, including Jake Connelly's mystery character. The footage was played alongside audio of a conversation between Mike and Eleven, too, with the former telling the latter that they'll finish this fight together.

All in all, season 5 looks and sounds fantastic – so, when will it launch on Netflix? The short answer is: we don't know. Stranger Things 5 only wrapped filming on December 20, 2024 and given the amount of footage that the Duffers have to sift through as part of the post-production process, I'm convinced we won't see one of the best Netflix shows return to our screens for the last time until late 2025. According to Netflix's Chief Content Officer Bella Bajara, Netflix Tudum 2025 will take place in May, so maybe we'll learn more about season 5's release window then.

As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.