The wait for Stranger Things Season 5 is nearly over, and Netflix has offered a chilling glimpse of what’s to come. The streamer released the first five minutes of the highly anticipated final season, giving fans a suspenseful return to Hawkins and the Upside Down. The opening sequence revisits a familiar moment that sets the stage for the series’ concluding chapter.
The first five minutes of Stranger Things Season 5 have been released online
Netflix unveiled the opening scene of Stranger Things Season 5 during the series’ virtual watch party. The first five minutes of the season’s first episode, titled “The Crawl,” open deep within the Upside Down’s forest in 1983, after Will Byers’ disappearance. A de-aged Noah Schnapp appears as 12-year-old Will, frightened and murmuring The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” inside the Upside Down version of Castle Byers.
As Will sings, he hears guttural noises before a Demogorgon crashes through the fort. He fires a rifle and briefly escapes, climbing a tree before the creature drags him down and out of frame. The screen fades to black and transitions to the Upside Down’s Hawkins Library. There, the Demogorgon presents Will to Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
Vecna emerges from the shadows, declaring, “At long last, we can begin.” Vines lift Will against the wall, and a tentacle extends toward Will’s mouth, releasing an unknown substance. Vecna whispers, “You and I, we’re going to do such beautiful things together,” while brushing his clawed hand against Will’s forehead.
After the flashback, the story is expected to return to present-day Hawkins, now under military quarantine. The official synopsis notes that “as the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread.” Ross Duffer told Netflix Tudum that Season 5 “is sprinting from the start,” breaking from previous setups, while Matt Duffer added, “Nothing in Hawkins is normal anymore… their movement is restricted, and there are Big Brother cameras everywhere.”
The first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 debut November 26 at 5 p.m. PT, followed by three on Christmas Day and the finale on New Year’s Eve.
