Netflix said on Wednesday that the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” will premiere in 2025. The streamer also posted a video announcing the titles for the last eight episodes, which will wrap up the mysterious tale of Hawkins, Indiana, in honor of Nov. 6, 1983, better known as “Stranger Things Day,” the day Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was kidnapped into the Upside Down.
“The Crawl,” “The Vanishing of…,” “The Turnbow Trap,” “Sorcerer,” “Shock Jock,” “Escape From Camazotz,” “The Bridge,” and “The Rightside Up” are the titles of the episodes.
Some of these titles make reference to previous episodes: “The Vanishing of…” evokes the series premiere “The Vanishing of Will Byers” when it is revealed with the name completely hidden. Although Netflix has not yet acknowledged it, fans have already conjectured that the new kidnapper would be Holly Wheeler, the younger sister of Mike (Finn Wolfhard), who was allegedly recast with “Evil Dead Rise” star Nell Fisher.
It seems appropriate that the series finale title, “The Rightside Up,” is the opposite of the title of the Season 1 finale, “The Upside Down,” which was the name of the phantasmagoric parallel realm associated with Hawkins. Additionally, the title of the penultimate episode, “The Bridge,” conjures odd titles like “The Gate” from Season 2 and “The Piggyback” from Season 4.
It appears that other books add new words to the “Stranger Things” universe. “The Turnbow Trap” most likely alludes to Turnbow Land Development & Realty, a Hawkins company; in March, Ross Duffer, co-creator of the series, shared an Upside Down-ified billboard for the company on Instagram. Meanwhile, “Shock Jock” probably alludes to WSQK, a radio station that seems to be a part of the season (again thanks to posts from Ross Duffer).
Next comes “Escape From Camazotz,” which is likely a reference to Madeleine L’Engle’s groundbreaking science fiction book “A Wrinkle in Time,” where the planet Camazotz is ruled by evil forces known as IT and the Black Thing. It’s unclear what Camazotz is referring to in “Stranger Things” and who might be running away from it.
The fact that the season is set in the fall of 1987, four years after the events of the first season, which premiered in 2016, is maybe the most wonderful element in the video.
Watch the full video here:
