One of the major talking points coming out of Stranger Things Season 4 has been the gargantuan length of the season. The season ultimately clocked in with a run-time of just under 13 hours, including the final two episodes running for quite the extended runtime. However, The Duffer Brothers seemingly intend to keep the show’s final season shorter than this current one though still on the longer side compared to the first three entries of Stranger Things.
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.
Matt Duffer
The Duffer Brothers further elaborated on some of the narrative rationales for a slight change of pace between seasons four and five.
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.
Ross Duffer
This certainly will be music to the ears of those that felt this latest season of Stranger Things was too arduous in length and scope to fully appreciate. Even still, it very likely would still be necessary for Stranger Things‘s next season to hold a slightly extended runtime as a means to ensure everyone in the vast main ensemble has a proper resolution to their arcs. And then also being able to immediately jump in and know what the threat will be alongside the character especially has the potential to engage fans more optimally.
Stranger Things is currently available to watch in completion on Netflix after the release of its second volume of episodes on July 1st. You can find our own review of this final batch of episodes by clicking here.
Source: Collider
