With just one episode left in Netflix’s hit original series “Stranger Things,” fans were thrilled Tuesday as the streaming service released a trailer for the long-awaited finale.
Over three years after Season 4, the fifth season of “Stranger Things” is being released in three parts. The first four episodes were released Nov. 26, followed by three more episodes released on Christmas.
The final episode in the season and in the series will be released Wednesday, on New Year’s Eve. The episode will be available to watch on Netflix as well as in select theaters.
“It’s very large in scale, but I think it’s more character-focused than any of the other episodes in the season. With the two-hour runtime, you’re able to do both,” said Matt Duffer, one of the show’s co-creators, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Here’s a look at the finale trailer, and what it tells us about the concluding episode.
What we learn from the ‘Stranger Things’ finale trailer
The preview starts with Jim Hopper (David Harbour) speaking to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and encouraging her to fight “one last time.” Hopper’s speech continues as flashbacks appear on the screen.
“Life has been so unfair to you. Your childhood was taken from you, you’ve been attacked, manipulated by terrible people. But you never let it break you,” he says. “Fight for the days on the other side of this. Fight for a world beyond Hawkins.”
As he continues to narrate the visuals, the trailer flashes images of the cast throughout the series and gives a closer look at the villain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Toward the end, Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) is seen screaming as the image cuts to Hopper holding a gun.
“Let’s end this, kid,” he seems to tell Eleven.
The trailer concludes with a red lightning flash in the sky, a quip from Dustin and the promise of one final episode.
How previous episodes set up the ‘Stranger Things’ finale
During the “Stranger Things” penultimate episode, a plan was laid out for how the heroes will defeat Vecna once and for all. The Hawkins crew will enter the Upside Down while Vecna begins to merge the world of the Abyss with Earth. When the Abyss is close enough to reach in the Upside Down, Eleven will reach into Vecna’s mind and fight on the psychic plane. Meanwhile the others will enter the gnarly dimension to rescue the children kidnapped by Vecna.
They also plan to set off an explosion to destroy the Upside Down for good before returning to their own world.
“What we really wanted to make sure we did this year with the penultimate episode was get the plan in motion so that Episode 8 can start at a sprint as opposed to generally with our finales where they’re building the plans and it’s climaxing,” said Ross Duffer, one of the show’s co-creators, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“This way, by just starting at a sprint, one, it’s fun, but also it gave us more time on the back end to spend with these characters and wrap this up properly because we didn’t wanna feel rushed at the end,” he added. “We wanted to be able to take the time that we felt that these characters deserved.”
Watch the ‘Stranger Things’ trailer here
When to watch the ‘Stranger Things’ series finale
The final episode, titled “The Rightside Up,” will simultaneously drop in select North American theaters and on Netflix. It will be available to view starting Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. MST.
Ross Duffer shared on Instagram that over 3,500 finale screenings are already sold out. He added that over 1.1 million people have already RSVP’d to finale screenings on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
The finale episode has a runtime of 2 hours and 5 minutes. It will also be the franchise’s first time on the big screen, with showings at more than 600 theaters.