When Season 4 of Stranger Things hit Netflix, one of the first things to jump out at audiences was simply how long the season was. Not in terms of episode count, as the season — released in two parts on May 27 and July 1 respectively — ran for 9 episodes total, which is fairly on par for previous seasons. But the runtime for those episodes was another story, with some episodes breaking the 90-minute mark, and the season finale clocking in at 2 hours and 20 minutes.
But the Duffer Brothers have said this will not be the case for the fifth and final season of the series. In speaking with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub, they revealed that while the season will still be longer than the earliest ones, their intention is to keep it closer to the ten-hour mark.
Matt Duffer elaborated, saying:
“We thought Season 4 was going to be eight [episodes], and they were going to be regular length. So if you had interviewed us before four, that’s what I would’ve said. I think we’re aiming for eight again. We don’t want it to be 13 hours. We’re aiming for more like 10 hours or something. I think it’s going to be longer than Season 1 because we just have so much to wrap up, but I don’t think it’s going to be as long as Season 4.”
Building on that, Ross Duffer said that an overall structural change to the story would account for the difference in run time, adding:
“This season, for instance, it was two hours before our characters even realized the monster was killing people in Hawkins. They know what the threat is now, and so that will help speed it up.”
Stranger Things Season 4 sees the cast of teenagers and young adults investigating a series of strange murders in their hometown of Hawkins, which they eventually trace back to Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), whose powers are very similar to those of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). The series also stars David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, and Joseph Quinn.
Season 4 of Stranger Things is streaming now on Netflix.
Read more about Stranger Things Season 4:
‘Stranger Things’ Creators Explain the Duality of Will’s Speech to Mike in Episode 8
‘Stranger Things’ Creators Explain Why [SPOILER] Had to Die
Star Wars Was a Major Inspiration on The ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Finale, The Duffer Brothers Say