Stranger Things Stars and Creators Tease Volume 2 and Finale

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By Jennifer Chu

Published 11 hours ago

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Warning: The following contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 5, volume 1.

The hit Netflix show Stranger Things just released the first volume of the final season. Now, the cast and creators reveal what viewers can look forward to seeing in volume 2 and the finale.

In Stranger Things season 5, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) remains determined to change the fictional town of Hawkins, IN. However, he has shifted his focus. Rather than preying on teenagers as he did in previous seasons, he’s now targeting much younger kids. This is somewhat of a return to form for the character as he used similar tactics to abduct 11-year-old Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) back on November 6, 1983.

Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher) uncovers another side of Vecna through his human persona, Henry. Her disappearance in Stranger Things season 5, episode 2, raises new questions about his interest in Will. This sets the stage for a deeper look at the villain’s larger plan, with Holly’s favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time, lending a helping hand.

In an exclusive interview with Deadline, Bower revealed that he wanted the audience to feel a sense of dread and be on the edge of their seats throughout all of Stranger Things volume 2. He also stated that volume 1 is a lot more lighthearted than its successor because it's setting the viewers up for a much darker follow-up.

They should feel like what they’re doing is holding onto their chairs, going, ‘No, no, no,’ that’s how I want them to feel, particularly with what I’m up to. I think Volume 1 is, it’s funny, because it’s like, I want to call it a setup, but it is an explosive setup to what continues to happen in Volume 2 and subsequently [the finale].

Co-creator of Stranger Things, Matt Duffer, said that Holly having a bigger role in the final season will answer a lot of the questions fans may have about The Upside Down. “Especially as we get into Volume 2, we start to answer more and more why Will was kidnapped and how it ties in with Holly and all of this. Everything sort of comes full circle," he explained.

According to Stranger Things' other co-creator, Ross Duffer, volume 2 will reveal so much more information. He teased that Dimension X, first introduced in Stephen Daldry's prequel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, would directly tie into The Upside Down, Vecna, and the Mind Flayer.

That really is a Volume 2 thing, where we really get into the Upside Down, and we explain what it is,” he said. “Again, this is something that has been planned for 10 years now, and it just now, obviously is the time to reveal it.

Schnapp also goes into more detail about the big reveal regarding Will, who is actually a wizard. The actor went into more detail about how his character's powers are similar to Eleven's but still very different at the same time.

It was originally supposed to work in the same way that Eleven’s powers do because, as you read the scripts in Volume 2, it comes in a different way than hers. So, making sure that the physicality of that shows that it works different.

Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is now available to stream on Netflix. Volume 2 will be released on December 25, 2025, and the finale will drop on December 31, 2025.