New behind-the-scenes footage for Stranger Things season 5 has been unveiled behind closed doors, taking viewers on the set of the final chapter of the hit Netflix show.
At the 2025 Next on Netflix event which was attended by GamesRadar+, audiences were treated to a very short behind-the-scenes montage which gave us a glimpse at what to expect from the upcoming season.
Although brief, the footage was action packed with highlights including the return of the villainous Vecna, a shot of the stained glass window from the Creel family home, and Will screaming seemingly in the Upside Down. Over the teaser, Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven provided a voiceover saying, "they don't get to write the ending, but we do". Naturally, we got goosebumps.
Whilst the behind-the-scenes teaser didn't reveal much, creators the Duffer Brothers did come on stage to confirm a few exciting details. They announced to the crowd that they filmed a whopping over 650 hours of footage for the final season, with the shoot taking place over an entire year.
That's quite the achievement of course, even if we have already had countless teases that the final season would feel like eight movies. As Ross Duffer told last night's audience: "We spent a full year filming this season. By the end, we'd captured over 650 hours of footage. So, needless to say, this is our biggest and most ambitious season yet. It's like eight blockbuster movies. It's pretty insane."
Continuing on from his brother, Matt Duffer went on to state that Stranger Things season 5 is their most "personal" one yet, making it even more emotional to film, the result being plenty of tears.
He shared: "At the same time, we think it's our most personal story. 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."
Lastly, the Duffers confirmed that although season 5 will be the end of these characters' stories, they aren't saying goodbye to the world of Stanger Things anytime soon, teasing that several spin-off tales could be arriving with some already in the works.
Although they wanted to hold their cards close to their chests regarding details, Matt revealed: "But while this might be the end of the story for Mike, Hopper, Dustin, Lucas, Eleven, and the others, it's not goodbye for Stranger Things. There are more Stranger Things stories to tell and in the works.
"It's a bit early at this point to talk about them, but we're deeply involved in every one – it's very important to us that anything with the Stranger Things name on it is of the highest quality and not repetitive – that it has a reason to exist and always blazes its own path. And also, it needs to basically just be... awesome. Or we need to think it's awesome. And there are a lot of what we think are awesome things in the pipeline."
Now, this isn't the first time that the Duffer Brothers have hinted at spin-offs and in fact, an animated series was announced last year. But what the future holds exactly, only time will tell. For now, we await the reveal of the release date for season 5 which is still yet to be confirmed.
Stranger Things season 5 will be released this year. In the meantime, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies to fill out your watchlist.
