It’s only a matter of days until fans head back to the town of Hawkins and the world of the Upside Down for Season 5 Volume 2 of Stranger Things. Viewers have been waiting anxiously for the second part of the season after the first set of episodes dropped on Nov. 26 — especially following the cliffhanger of Season 5, Episode 4. Now, fans are finally getting a look at the next three episodes of Stranger Things with the Season 5 Volume 2 trailer.
The trailer picks up where Episode 4 — “Sorcerer” — left off, with Will on the ground after killing the demogorgons. “We failed. We never stood a chance,” he says in the voiceover. “This is not over,” Joyce tells him. “Not by a long shot.” We then see Max and Holly Wheeler trying to escape Vecna’s dreams. Later on in the trailer, we see Dustin saying, “This whole time, everything we ever thought about the Upside Down has been dead wrong.” During the entire trailer, Diana Ross’s “Upside Down” plays in the background.
This isn’t the first trailer that Stranger Things has released. Back in October, the full official trailer for Season 5 was released. Before that, in July, Netflix shared a full-length teaser. In the video, Steve was seen parked in a van outside 94.5 The SQUAWK, a radio station in Hawkins. Steve turns a wheel on the van’s roof to turn the decibel level higher and higher throughout the trailer. Viewers then see the kids of Stranger Things leaving the radio station parking lot on their bikes, and hear Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) say, “Burn commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2, and…” We then hear Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) saying, “After what we’ve been through, this thing, it ties us together. Forever.”
As Dustin and Jonathan speak, clips from the new season flash on the screen, including flocks of soldiers standing watch at a gate to the Upside Down, Dustin visiting Eddie’s grave site, and Lucas sitting with Max in the hospital, where she is still unconscious. We also see Hopper tell Eleven, “Let’s end this, kid.” When the trailer hits 100 decibels, the screen goes black. Vecna is then heard, saying, “Found you.”
Back in November 2024, Netflix revealed all eight episode titles for the upcoming season in a teaser video. The fifth and final season began with “The Crawl,” followed by “The Vanishing Of _____.” (The teaser blurred out the name, so it was unclear which character’s disappearance rocked Season 5. We now know that to be Holly Wheeler.) Episode 3 was titled “The Turnbow Trap,” while Episodes 4 and 5 are titled “Sorcerer” and “Shock Jock,” respectively. Episode 6 is titled “Escape from Camazotz,” Episode 7 is called “The Bridge,” and the series finale is titled “The Rightside Up,” which could hint at the end of The Upside Down.
The teaser also revealed that the fifth season is set in November 1987, which is a bit of a time jump from Season 4, which was set in March 1986. Maya Hawke, who portrays Robin Buckley, appeared on the Podcrushed podcast back in June 2024, where she shared that the eight episodes of the final season will feel like “eight movies,” highlighting the long length of the episodes.
The Season 5 trailer has fans theorizing what’s to come.
On July 15, 2024, a video of the Stranger Things BTS was posted on social media. The video shows clips of set-building, characters on set, actors in their trailers, and some commentary from the cast. Millie Bobby Brown reflected on how long she’s been playing the role of Eleven, saying, “I started when I was 10, I’m now turning 20 years old. Feels very weird.”
Other cast members also expressed excitement for the upcoming season. “We’re just kind of savoring every single moment,” Sadie Sink, who portrays Max, said. “It’s just so exciting. I think this is going to be the best season yet,” Noah Schnapp (Will Byers) expressed. If the cast is this excited about Season 5, we should be, too.
The clips fans have seen from Season 5 so far have fans theorizing about what’s to come in the final season of the show. Some think we’ll get even more information about Will’s previous experience in the Upside Down and how it connects to the end of the show, while others are theorizing which member(s) of the Hawkins crew may not make it out of the final battle.
Now, all we have to do is wait patiently until Dec. 25 for the next three episodes of Stranger Things, though I don’t doubt the wait will be worth it (and only hope that Vecna is finally defeated once and for all).