The fourth season of Stranger Things features a bigger cast than any previous season, including Finn Wolfhard, David Harbour, and Gaten Matarazzo. With Hopper in a Soviet prison, Eleven in California, and a handful of other characters in various places in between, season 4, it was difficult to give enough time to each separate group of characters.
It's clear that the Duffers aren't looking to create a final season as large as season 4 because of the fact that it will feature a time-jump to account for the aging of the main actors. The show's fourth season was the biggest yet, with the core group of heroes facing off against the evil Vecna. The Duffers will be able to do away with much of the preliminary mystery and setup in season 5 due to the threat facing Hawkins being fairly evident.
The Duffers might be able to keep the length of season 5 a bit shorter because the story will be less spread out. The Duffers said that they expected season 4 to be shorter in length, potentially meaning that season 5 could end up running longer than anticipated. The creators explain that part of the reason why season 4 ran so long was because there were close to two hours of setup before most of the main characters even knew about Vecna. The Duffers believe that with all that out of the way, they will be able to get into the action quicker.
I don't think it will be as long as Season 4 because we have so much to finish. The fourth season consists of nine episodes but has a total run time of close to 13 hours. Audiences were introduced to the superpowered Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her group of friends as they attempt to protect their hometown from monsters in the first season of Stranger Things.
It was widely reported before the season was released that it would be longer than previous installments.
In a new interview with Collider, the Duffer Brothers reveal that there will be a more traditional episode count.
It was two hours before our characters realized the monster was killing people.
"We thought Season 4 was going to be eight episodes, and they were going to be regular length," said Matt Duffer. The creators of the show explain why season 5 will be shorter than season 4. They know what the threat is and that will speed it up.
There were different groups of characters in the fourth season of Stranger Things. Each season consists of eight episodes, with each running under an hour. If you had interviewed us before four, that's what I would have said. It shouldn't be 13 hours. We're hoping for more than 10 hours.