'Stranger Things' Season 5 trailer teases epic battle in the Upside Down

Vecna's back, and he's grown some new tendrils.

By 

Matthews Martins

 on October 31, 2025

Stranger Things. Credit: Netflix via YouTube

Every trailer for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things raises the stakes, to the point that I'm truly terrified for the fates that await our Hawkins faves in the Upside Down.

Stranger Things 5 kicks off with a time jump to the fall of 1987. That's over a year after the Season 4 finale, which saw the show's heroes unable to stop Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) from opening a rift to the Upside Down in Hawkins. Since then, Hawkins has been placed under military quarantine, and the government is searching relentlessly for Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).

SEE ALSO:'Stranger Things 5' featurette teases 'biggest season we've ever had'

However, Eleven and her friends have a plan of their own on how to stop Vecna and save the world. And based on Netflix's latest trailer for Season 5, it looks like their last adventure will be the most epic yet.

From Eleven fully flying herself over a fence to new looks at the Upside Down — including a vast landscape full of islands floating in the sky in the vein of Avatar's Pandora — the trailer is full of jaw-dropping moments that would surely look great on the big screen. And wouldn't you know it, the Season 5 finale will be screened in movie theaters, giving Stranger Things fans the chance to experience a supersized version of the show.

The trailer is also full of moments that may induce panic. Why is Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) facing a Demogorgon alone? Why are Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Steve (Joe Keery) holding each other and sobbing? Why is Vecna strangling Will (Noah Schnapp)? I'm worried!

Watch the full trailer above for more worry — and anticipation — for Stranger Things 5.

Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 premieres Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix. Volume 2 premieres Dec. 26, and the series finale premieres Dec. 31.

Topics Netflix Stranger Things Trailers