Netflix is officially steering Stranger Things toward its endgame. The newly released trailer for Season 5, Volume 2 sets a grim, defiant tone as Hawkins prepares for one last stand — and it’s clear there’s no version of this fight that ends quietly.
The preview opens with Will Byers’ voice cutting through the tension: “We failed.” As Diana Ross’ “Upside Down” plays slowly in the background, the weight of everything the group has lost hangs heavy. But the mood doesn’t stay mournful for long. Once Eleven puts on her headphones, the song accelerates into full disco mode, signaling a shift from reflection to resolve as the group gears up for a final battle against Vecna — live or die.
Volume 2 arrives after the Thanksgiving debut of the season’s first four episodes, which reintroduced viewers to a Hawkins under military lockdown, with the government hunting Eleven and desperately trying to contain the spreading Upside Down rift. By the end of Volume 1, Vecna had survived a direct military assault unscathed, leaving no doubt that the real war was still ahead.
The new trailer makes that clear. Joyce insists the fight isn’t over “by a long shot,” while Dustin and Steve explore a warped, vine-covered version of Hawkins Lab and realize everything they thought they understood about the Upside Down may be wrong. Eleven reaches out to her sister Kali for help locating Vecna, while flashes of the past and present collide — including Max and Holly Wheeler trapped deep inside Vecna’s memories.
Action beats escalate quickly: Nancy takes sniper position, the group storms a massive gate, and familiar alliances are tested under pressure. Vecna, calm and confident, declares it’s time for “new worlds,” raising the stakes beyond Hawkins itself.
The trailer also revisits one of the show’s most emotionally loaded promises, as Dustin and Steve echo a familiar pact: “You die, I die.” In a season built around endings, it’s a chilling reminder that no one is guaranteed to make it out.
Stranger Things Season 5 marks the final chapter for the series and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Noah Schnapp, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Jamie Campbell Bower, with new additions including Linda Hamilton, Nell Fisher, Alex Breaux, and Jake Connelly.
Season 5, Volume 2 (Episodes 505–507) premieres Christmas Day at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.
The series finale arrives on New Year’s Eve, streaming on Netflix and screening in theaters.
One way or another, Hawkins’ story is about to end — upside down and all.