Stranger Things Season 5: Ross Duffer finally reveals episode runtimes and release dates

Stranger Things episode durations out

After months of speculation, Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer has finally put fan theories to rest about the highly anticipated fifth and final season of Netflix’s hit series.

And while the new episodes will still be big, bold, and cinematic, not every one of them will run like a full-length movie.

In a new video shared on his Instagram, Duffer revealed the official runtimes for the first four episodes — and it turns out there’s a healthy mix of sizes.

The season premiere, titled “The Crawl,” will be 1 hour and 8 minutes long, followed by “The Vanishing of _____” at 54 minutes, “The Turnbow Trap” at 1 hour and 6 minutes, and “Sorcerer” at 1 hour and 23 minutes.

The lengths of the remaining four episodes are still under wraps — but if Duffer’s earlier comments are any clue, they’re likely to be epic.

This latest update comes after rumours that every episode would run over 90 minutes, following Duffer’s earlier comparison of the season to “eight blockbuster movies.”

Now, fans can breathe a sigh of relief (and excitement) knowing they’ll be getting a mix of long and perfectly bingeable episodes.

The co-creator also gave fans a few tantalising hints about what to expect. He called “The Crawl” his “favourite” and “most eventful first episode since Season 1,” while describing episode two as “the craziest cold open we’ve ever done.

One of the sequences we’re most proud of this season.” He added that “The Turnbow Trap” will be “the most classic Stranger Things-y episode of the season,” and revealed that Frank Darabont, the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Shawshank Redemption, came out of retirement to direct it.

Also Read: Netflix teases global tour with ‘Stranger Things’ cast ahead of Season 5, calls it “One last adventure”: Watch

As for “Sorcerer,” Duffer said it’s “MASSIVE — as big as any finale we’ve ever done, and the most logistically insane shoot of our lives.”

Netflix has confirmed that the final season will roll out in three parts: Volume 1 arrives on 26 November 2025 (four episodes), Volume 2 drops on Christmas Day (three episodes), and The Finale closes out the series on New Year’s Eve.

The beloved cast — including Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Maya Hawke, David Harbour, and Winona Ryder — are all back to bring Hawkins’ story to a close.