Stranger Things is getting ready to conclude the highly anticipated supernatural saga of Hawkins. Netflix has prepared to bid farewell to its sci-fi epic with a supersized episode. 

The show's fifth season has fascinated the audience with its multi-part release, thus creating expectations more or less like a trilogy of epic films. And the approaching series finale is not simply an episode; it is the high point of consistently magnificent storytelling spanning almost a decade.  

With the end so close, people are curious how long the finale is and if it should be viewed in parts in order to fully appreciate the scale of the emotional spectacle that the Duffer Brothers have promised.

The final episode of Stranger Things, Episode 8, titled, The Rightside Up will be released on December 31, 2025, on Netflix worldwide. It is not a normal hour-long episode. The runtime of its long-awaited last chapter is officially 2 hours and 5 minutes. 

With a feature-length final episode, Netflix aims for a proper farewell to Stranger Things one last time. Since the story is already split into Volume 1, Volume 2, and creating a trilogy-like experience that culminates in an epic finale, the final episode need not be split into two parts. 

Stranger Things Season 4 Finale, The Piggyback, also had an official runtime of about 2 hours and 19 minutes, and made for a perfect single-binge session. The fifth season of the show is divided into three parts, spanning the Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve. As of now, Volume 1, comprising episodes 1 through 4, was released on November 26, 2025, thus commencing the last chapter.  

The second volume consists of episodes 5 through 7, which will be available on December 25, 2025. And the grand finale will present a special limited theatrical release in the US and Canada, occupying about 500 screens, alongside streaming on Netflix, and will run through January 1, 2026. 

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Even as the show calls the curtain with the new year, Hawkins' universe expands. So, what comes after the Stranger Things finale?

From the very beginning of the Netflix sci-fi epic, viewers have been tied to their screens, wanting to know about Vecna, the Upside Down, and the destiny of their favorite characters. And after the finale, Stranger Things spin-offs could fill the blockbuster-sized holes in the hearts of the fans.

Spilling on the upcoming spin-offs in the works, Matt Duffer told Variety, "It’s so different than something like Star Wars." Instead, it is an extension of the show’s universe, and "rather than increasingly expand what could become an insanely convoluted mythology," he added.

Besides the animated series called Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, ideas for spin-offs and other projects have been up in the air. The Duffer Brothers are still going to expand the universe even after the main story wraps up. Although the finale is going to close the main plotline, the audience can still count on the brand's presence in future storylines, either through prequels, spin-offs, or different formats that will keep the spirit of Hawkins alive.  

Meanwhile, celebrate this Christmas with Stranger Things 5 Volume 2, catch a breath, and then prepare to be glued to the seats for a couple of hours on NYE to catch the grand finale.

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