Latest news with #DufferBrothers
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Hawkins Crew Prepares for Battle in ‘Stranger Things 5' Season Teaser
It's the end of an era, and finally, we'll know what happens to Hawkins, Indiana once and for all. The trailer for the fifth and final season of 'Stranger Things' has been unveiled, with more hints as to how the hit Netflix series will conclude. Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Maya Hawke, Jamie Campbell Bower, and more reprise their roles in the ensemble cast for 'Stranger Things 5.' The fifth season also welcomes new cast members Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux. More from IndieWire 'Fixed' Trailer: Genndy Tartakovsky's Animated Dog Story is Definitely Not For Kids Why the Emmy Nominations Still Matter The first teaser for 'Stranger Things 5,' the final installment of the viral Netflix series, was released during the annual 'Stranger Things' Day in honor of the first episode of the series being set on November 6, 1983, titled 'The Vanishing of Will Byers.' Season 5 will take place in 1987 and also has another 'Vanishing of' episode, with that character name hidden in the teaser. The Season 5 episodes are as titled: 'The Crawl,' 'The Vanishing Of…,' 'The Turnbow Trap,' 'Sorcerer,' 'Shock Jock,' 'Escape from Camazotz,' 'The Bridge,' and the series finale of 'The Rightside Up.' In January 2025 at Next on Netflix, the Duffer Brothers previewed footage from the final season, with Ross Duffer calling it the 'biggest and most ambitious' yet. Two out of the eight episodes will be directed by 'The Shawshank Redemption' filmmaker Frank Darabont, who came out of an 11-year retirement to work on the final season. The official synopsis of the season reads: 'The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will's disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they've faced before. To end this nightmare, they'll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.' Created by the Duffer Brothers, 'Stranger Things' debuted in July 2016 and became one of Netflix's most popular television series ever, with its fourth season alone amassing over 140.7 million views globally. The series has garnered more than 70 awards worldwide including Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and has been nominated for over 230 awards. Vol. 1 of 'Stranger Things 5' debuts on Friday, November 26, with Vol. 2 streaming on Christmas Day and the series finale streaming on New Year's Eve. Check out the trailer below. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Stranger Things' biggest Dungeons and Dragons references explained ahead of final season
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things lands later this year Fans of Stranger Things are in a frenzy as Netflix has unveiled a trailer for the eagerly awaited fifth season of the fantasy drama, crafted by the Duffer Brothers, reports the Express. The fifth series will bring the grand sci-fi fantasy saga to an end as the final showdown takes shape in Hawkins, Indiana, with the crew aiming to defeat Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) once and for all. As per tradition, the show is set to be peppered with numerous pop culture nods, this time featuring 80s legend and The Terminator star Linda Hamilton portraying Dr Kay. This casting follows appearances from Sean Astin, Matthew Modine, Robert Englund, Carey Elwes, and, naturally, Winona Ryder, who have all graced the show. Crucially, Stranger Things delves deep into the mythology of tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), which has been pivotal to the drama series. Here's a glimpse at how Stranger Things and D&D are intertwined. The Upside Down The inaugural season kicked off with Will Byers (portrayed by Noah Schnapp), Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) engrossed in the fantasy board game in a basement. Following Will's disappearance, the lads turned to D&D to decipher the peculiar occurrences in Hawkins. The Upside Down is compared to the Vale of Shadows and the Shadow realm in the first series, with some also noting resemblances to Shadowfell. The Forgotten Realms Fandom page describes the Vale as a place with "area of high bluffs and deep chasms with small pathways, with tombs lying through it", shrouded in darkness even during daylight, some of which are inhabited by "undead shadows". Shadowfell, on the other hand, is depicted as an ominous "echo" of the Prime Material Plane, a "toxic plane of darkness and power" that despises illumination and remains concealed. Demogorgon In the first season of Stranger Things, viewers were introduced to the Demogorgon, the initial antagonist wreaking havoc in Hawkins until its defeat. The creature was dubbed Demogorgon by the kids due to a lack of alternative names. In Dungeons & Dragons lore, the Demogorgon is known as the Imprisoned One and the Prince of Demons. Yet, the Stranger Things version of the Demogorgon visually deviates from its D&D counterpart, which is described as a towering 5.5 metres entity with a serpentine body, simian strength, dual baboon heads, and a lengthy bifurcated tail. Mind Flayer The second season saw the arrival of the Mind Flayer, utilising psychic prowess to manipulate others, including Will. This hive-minded, arachnid-like behemoth was ultimately defeated at the Starcourt Mall showdown in the third season. In Dungeons & Dragons, the Mind Flayer or Mind Ruler similarly exerts control over others within its domain, absorbing their personalities while they live and usurping their bodies. However, their portrayal in the game differs drastically from Stranger Things. The Mind Flayer appears as a "gruesome mockery of the humanoid form" with a head that's "bulging, ridges and elongated", featuring a mass of tentacles surrounding its mouths. Vecna Within the series, Vecna possesses a completely different backstory, unveiled through flashbacks featuring Henry Creel (Raphael Luce). Following his banishment to the Upside Down by Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) during the Hawkins Lab slaughter, Vecna ventured through this alternate realm, harnessing it to amplify his abilities and forge the Mind Flayer as his means of returning to Hawkins. Within D&D lore, Vecna stands amongst the most formidable antagonists in the game, originally a human monarch whose immense power elevated him to god-like standing. Yet his strength grew excessive, condemning him to an existence of "undeath". He's portrayed as "decrepit", lacking his left hand and eye. According to D&D mythology, Vecna harboured an obsession with secrets, convinced they contained dominion over every living entity. He maintained that creatures could be controlled to guarantee devastation through a solitary secret. He roamed across the multiverse, maintaining a concealed ebony tower within the Pandemonium plane. Additional D&D nods emerge at Stranger Things season one's conclusion, where the group's campaign concludes prematurely, with mentions of the "proud princess", the "lost knight" and " weird flowers in the cave". These elements mirror the programme itself and potentially allude to Eleven and the tendrils within the Upside Down.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Time to get excited!' Why Stranger Things could be back to its best for its final episodes ever
Objectively, you should not be excited about the return of Stranger Things. Over the years, the Netflix smash has in many ways come to represent everything bad about television's streaming era. It began as a fun piece of fluff, a one-and-done collection of overt 1980s film references, designed as the first part of an unconnected anthology. But then it exceeded expectations, so the Duffer brothers found themselves having to pull an entire mythology out of thin air. And a bloated one at that, full of (at best) bottle episodes about punky young superheroes and (at worst) self-indulgent episodes that grind on for hours and hours. And because the episodes were so gargantuan, they took years to make. This is why you shouldn't be excited about the return of Stranger Things. Whatever happened in the last batch of episodes has long since receded from memory and they were so long that you cannot possibly build up the enthusiasm to watch them all again. It is less a series and more a Man v Food challenge, served up long after you've forgotten what your last meal tasted of. And yet the first trailer for the final batch of Stranger Things episodes has dropped and goddamn it if I'm not suddenly really excited about it. What happens in the trailer? It's hard to say. Joe Keery turns a wheel in a van. A bunch of lights flicker. There are flamethrowers. Someone jumps between trees during a lightning storm, pursued by a demon. A bunch of four-legged monsters prowl around a kitchen like raptors in Jurassic Park. There are machine guns and fast cars, and crying and flying and Vecna throwing a sort of burning tornado at the sky, all accompanied by Deep Purple's Child in Time. Does it make sense? Not really. Is it so overloaded with mythology and superfluous characters that you felt you needed a diagram to remind you who everyone was? Almost certainly. But could I feel my heart start to race as it went on? Yes. The Stranger Things trailer isn't the best trailer I've ever seen, but it might qualify as the most trailer I've ever seen, and sometimes that does the trick. More than anything, it reinforces the direction that Stranger Things has been heading for the past nine years. There will be not a single atom of subtlety in these episodes. Any nuance will be forced out by a powerhouse of spectacle. Things will explode. There will be CGI by the gallon. Characters will operate exclusively in emotional red zones. For better or worse, you will end this series exhausted. However, there is one small hint that – despite the heavy metal frenzy that whirls around it – Stranger Things knows how it will stick the landing. It comes in the form of a snatch of dialogue between Hopper and Eleven. It isn't much ('Let's end this, kid') but it's a sign the key relationship of the entire series is back on track. Despite all the excess – the monsters, the nostalgia – Stranger Things was always a show about parenthood. It's the story of a man who finds a weird little girl with nowhere to go, who helps him rebuild himself after experiencing the most devastating bereavement. Any time it has leant into the found-family dynamic between Hopper and Eleven, Stranger Things has found an emotional wallop that cannot be overwhelmed by the whiz-bang chicanery of the rest of the show. This is where Stranger Things began and I pray this is where it will end. That's the pull of this trailer. The final season of Stranger Things will surely be too long. There will be too many storylines. There will be children riding bicycles even though they are visibly so old they should really have been driving their own children to school for the past decade. But if it remembers to focus on its heart – on the dynamic between a man and a girl who saved each other – then it might be worth getting excited about Stranger Things after all.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Time to get excited!' Why Stranger Things could be back to its best for its final episodes ever
Objectively, you should not be excited about the return of Stranger Things. Over the years, the Netflix smash has in many ways come to represent everything bad about television's streaming era. It began as a fun piece of fluff, a one-and-done collection of overt 1980s film references, designed as the first part of an unconnected anthology. But then it exceeded expectations, so the Duffer brothers found themselves having to pull an entire mythology out of thin air. And a bloated one at that, full of (at best) bottle episodes about punky young superheroes and (at worst) self-indulgent episodes that grind on for hours and hours. And because the episodes were so gargantuan, they took years to make. This is why you shouldn't be excited about the return of Stranger Things. Whatever happened in the last batch of episodes has long since receded from memory and they were so long that you cannot possibly build up the enthusiasm to watch them all again. It is less a series and more a Man v Food challenge, served up long after you've forgotten what your last meal tasted of. And yet the first trailer for the final batch of Stranger Things episodes has dropped and goddamn it if I'm not suddenly really excited about it. What happens in the trailer? It's hard to say. Joe Keery turns a wheel in a van. A bunch of lights flicker. There are flamethrowers. Someone jumps between trees during a lightning storm, pursued by a demon. A bunch of four-legged monsters prowl around a kitchen like raptors in Jurassic Park. There are machine guns and fast cars, and crying and flying and Vecna throwing a sort of burning tornado at the sky, all accompanied by Deep Purple's Child in Time. Does it make sense? Not really. Is it so overloaded with mythology and superfluous characters that you felt you needed a diagram to remind you who everyone was? Almost certainly. But could I feel my heart start to race as it went on? Yes. The Stranger Things trailer isn't the best trailer I've ever seen, but it might qualify as the most trailer I've ever seen, and sometimes that does the trick. More than anything, it reinforces the direction that Stranger Things has been heading for the past nine years. There will be not a single atom of subtlety in these episodes. Any nuance will be forced out by a powerhouse of spectacle. Things will explode. There will be CGI by the gallon. Characters will operate exclusively in emotional red zones. For better or worse, you will end this series exhausted. However, there is one small hint that – despite the heavy metal frenzy that whirls around it – Stranger Things knows how it will stick the landing. It comes in the form of a snatch of dialogue between Hopper and Eleven. It isn't much ('Let's end this, kid') but it's a sign the key relationship of the entire series is back on track. Despite all the excess – the monsters, the nostalgia – Stranger Things was always a show about parenthood. It's the story of a man who finds a weird little girl with nowhere to go, who helps him rebuild himself after experiencing the most devastating bereavement. Any time it has leant into the found-family dynamic between Hopper and Eleven, Stranger Things has found an emotional wallop that cannot be overwhelmed by the whiz-bang chicanery of the rest of the show. This is where Stranger Things began and I pray this is where it will end. That's the pull of this trailer. The final season of Stranger Things will surely be too long. There will be too many storylines. There will be children riding bicycles even though they are visibly so old they should really have been driving their own children to school for the past decade. But if it remembers to focus on its heart – on the dynamic between a man and a girl who saved each other – then it might be worth getting excited about Stranger Things after all.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Stranger Things Season 5 release date: Trailer, cast and where to watch
Stranger Things Season 5: The wait is nearly over! Netflix has confirmed the release schedule for Stranger Things Season 5, along with a thrilling new teaser trailer that sets the tone for the series' climactic final chapter. Since its debut in 2016, Stranger Things has become a global pop culture phenomenon, and its concluding season promises an emotional, action-packed farewell. From confirmed release dates and streaming details to cast returns and major story clues, here's everything fans need to know about Stranger Things 5. Stranger Things Season 5 Release Date: Full volume schedule Netflix is rolling out the fifth and final season in three separate volumes, with each drop packed with new twists and escalating stakes: Volume 1 (4 Episodes): Premieres Wednesday, November 26, 2025 Volume 2 (3 Episodes): Premieres Thursday, December 25, 2025 Volume 3 (Finale): Premieres Wednesday, December 31, 2025 All episodes will be available to stream on Netflix at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT on their respective dates. Stranger Things Season 5 Release Time in India Indian viewers can stream the episodes the following mornings at 5:30 AM IST: Volume 1: Thursday, November 27, 2025 Volume 2: Friday, December 26, 2025 Volume 3: Thursday, January 1, 2026 Stranger Things Season 5 Trailer: What it reveals The newly released teaser hints at an explosive endgame. Set in fall 1987, Hawkins is now under military quarantine following the catastrophic opening of the rifts. Eleven is once again forced into hiding as the government intensifies its hunt. Meanwhile, the dreaded Vecna has vanished, but the threat he poses has only grown stronger. The group must reunite and stay together to take him down once and for all. With the anniversary of Will Byers' disappearance approaching, an unsettling dread creeps in. The teaser also promises major reveals about the Upside Down's origins, based on long-hidden lore the Duffer Brothers have teased since Season 1. Returning Cast of Stranger Things 5 The final season reunites all your favourite characters, including: Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) David Harbour (Jim Hopper) Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers) Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) Noah Schnapp (Will Byers) Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield) Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, and more Jamie Campbell Bower returns as Vecna Plus new faces like Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay Where to watch Stranger Things Season 5 online All episodes of Stranger Things 5 will stream exclusively on Netflix. Make sure your subscription is active and ready ahead of the premiere. What to expect: The final battle begins Expect intense action, emotional farewells, and long-awaited answers as the gang faces their darkest threat yet. The final season will explore the mythology of the Upside Down more deeply than ever, bringing closure to years of unanswered questions. As the Duffer Brothers hinted, "To end this nightmare, they'll need the full party—together, one last time."
