After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the final season of "Stranger Things" is finally about to hit television screens. Created by the brilliant duo of brothers Matt and Ross Duffer , who achieved international fame thanks to the show, the series—set in a universe steeped in '80s pop culture and rich with references to the era's horror and nerd culture—seems poised for a thrilling conclusion, one that, according to predictions, will fully justify the long production time.

But what are the specific reasons that led to the delay in releasing the episodes? When asked about the topic, the Duffers stated in a recent interview with Variety that the main reason lies in their "perfectionism and unwavering determination to ensure the best possible conclusion."

As Ross explained, the time spent on the project was nonstop: "We took very little time off, very little time for ourselves. There was almost no break between the first seasons."

Even considering the inevitable setbacks caused by the pandemic and the 2023 actor and screenwriter strikes, the brothers acknowledge that their meticulousness was "a problem of their own making." Their obsession with detail and precision, the directors say, also stems from their cinematic influences: drawing inspiration from masters like David Fincher and Michael Mann, who "tend to be obsessive on set," the Duffers have made an obsessive attention to quality a constant in their work, even at the cost of inevitable delays.

Reflecting on the ten years it took to make the series, Matt confessed, “Part of me regrets not being able to tell different stories over the course of ten years... it consumed our entire thirty years.” Nevertheless, Ross emphasized how rare it is to be able to delve into a story so extensively and over such a long period, acknowledging that—precisely because of its narrative complexity—a worthy conclusion was essential. For this reason, the final episode of season five will tie up all the loose ends: “It doesn’t feel like we’ve left any storylines unfinished; everything will be very connected. We’ve done everything we wanted to do with the Demogorgons, the Mind Flayer, Vecna, and the Upside Down.”

As the release draws closer – with the first part of the series arriving on Netflix on November 27, the second part on December 26, and the final episode scheduled for January 1, 2026 – the cast is eagerly awaiting the audience’s response .

In particular, the interpreter of Mike Wheeler, the talented Finn Wolfhard, confessed in an interview with Time that he initially feared that the finale of “Stranger Things” could be received disappointingly by viewers, as happened in the past with the final season of Game of Thrones.

After reading the script and returning to the set, however, all doubts vanished: “I think everyone was quite worried, honestly. The way the final season of Game of Thrones was made made us say, ‘Let's hope something like this never happens again.’ But then we read the scripts. We knew it was something special.”

As Ross Duffer recalled, having a substantial budget for the fifth season ensured the desired level of quality: "We were worried about season four. It was such a relief when it got the ratings it did, because you don't want to reduce the budget for your final season or have to shorten the final season... those were all possible realities."

As for the rumors about the possible return of Eddie Munson, played by fan-favorite Joseph Quinn, the Duffers have definitively denied this. As Ross told Empire magazine: “I love that Joe Quinn is messing with people! But he’s dead. Joe’s so busy right now, it’s clear he’s not coming back. He’s done something like five movies since then! When the hell would he have had time to come and shoot Stranger Things? No, sadly, he’s resting in peace. He’s buried in the ground.”

Giovanni Scanu

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