Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven and Noah Schnapp as Will Byers in “Stranger Things” Season 4

The Duffer Brothers have some good news forStranger Thingsfans.

Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed when viewers can expect season 5 to arrive. While admitting there are no guarantees, the pair said in a joint statement toVariety: “The gap should be quite a bit shorter this time, due to the fact that we already have an initial outline, and we can’t imagine there will be another six-month forced hiatus.”

The third season of the Netflix hit premiered in July 2019, but production on season 4 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic occurring in early 2020. The Duffer Brothers used that time, in part, to fine-tune their ideas for season 5.

“During the six month pandemic hiatus, we outlined season 5 and pitched it to Netflix,” they explained. “Everyone there had also been present when we first pitched the show in 2015. While we were strangers then, we were now friends, and there were a lot of tears when it was over.”

The duo continued, “It’s just been an extraordinary journey for all of us, and while it’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end, we feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing partners.”

Stranger Thingswill return for season 4 on Friday. The season will be split up into two parts, with the first seven episodes dropping this week and the final two episodes streaming in July.

PerVariety, episode 7 has a 98-minute runtime and episode 8 goes for 85 minutes. The season finale nears the two and a half hour mark.

“Given the unprecedented length, and to get it to you as soon as possible, Season 4 will be released in two volumes,” the pair said in a previous letter to fans, noting that season 4 is “bigger than ever.”

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Stranger Things

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The Duffer Brothers also used the announcement to share thatStranger Thingswill conclude after its fifth season.

“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc forStranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons,” they wrote. “It proved too large to tell in four, but — as you’ll soon see for yourselves — we are now hurling toward our finale.”

The first seven episodes ofStranger Thingsseason 4 drop Friday on Netflix, with episodes 8 and 9 premiering on July 1.

source: people.com