Stranger Things finale trailer is out — Hawkins will never be the same

Netflix has released the trailer for the Stranger Things finale, which lands on December 31 both on the streamer and in theaters. Fans will finally see how the saga wraps up after nearly a decade of supernatural twists.

The episode, titled The Rightside Up, is the eighth and final chapter of Season 5. The first four episodes of the season came out on Thanksgiving as Volume 1, followed by three more on Christmas as Volume 2.

Stranger Things Volume 2 ended with a tense setup: Max awakens and reveals Vecna’s plan to merge the real world with a parallel dimension, the Abyss. The group prepares to enter the Abyss, rescue the kidnapped children, and destroy the threat. The finale sets up Vecna, disguised as Henry Creel, leading his brainwashed victims into a chilling ritual.

Since its debut in 2016, Stranger Things has been a cultural phenomenon. Season 5 continues the series’ trend of splitting releases into volumes, and the franchise has even grown beyond television, with a stage production currently running on Broadway.

The Stranger Things finale also tackles one of the biggest questions of the show: how Eleven can find peace when the military threat still looms over her. Season 5 emphasizes her struggle between hope and harsh reality, pushing her character to navigate both the supernatural dangers and the human threats that have followed her since the beginning.

This finale is special in more ways than one. It runs two hours and five minutes and marks the first time the series hits theaters, playing in over 500 locations across the US and Canada.

Screenings begin on New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m. PT, coinciding with the Netflix release. Interest is massive, more than a million fans have RSVP’d for the theatrical Stranger Things finale, with thousands of showtimes already sold out.

As the countdown begins, the Stranger Things finale promises to deliver a cinematic, high-stakes conclusion to a show that has defined Netflix’s streaming era, giving fans a proper send-off in both theaters and at home.