We Now Know When Stranger Things Will Come To An End

For fans of Netflix's smash hit sci-fi horror series "Stranger Things," it has been a long, torturous wait between the show's thrilling 3rd season finale, and the premiere of Season 4. And it's still a bit hard to process that three years have actually passed since Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and the Hawkins gang took down the big, bad Demogorgon in the Battle of Starcourt. The good news is we finally know when Season 4 of "Stranger Things" will arrive on Netflix. The streaming titan has announced not one, but two release dates for Season 4, as the new run of episodes will indeed arrive in two separate volumes (via The Hollywood Reporter). 

"Volume 1" of Season 4 will hit Netflix on May 27, 2022, with "Volume 2" arriving on July 1, 2022. As thrilling as that news will be to the "Stranger Things" fandom, the announcement of a two-part, supersized fourth season was a touch bittersweet, as the tagline for the upcoming season was revealed to be: "Every ending has a beginning." And yes, the bad news is that Netflix, and "Stranger Things" creators The Duffer Brothers, have revealed that the endgame for the series is closer than we think.

As covered by The Hollywood Reporter, The Duffer Brothers announced the series' impending end in a statement to "Stranger Things" fans. After explaining that they've long had the entire story of the series mapped out, they revealed, "At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four but — as you'll see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale." Per the Netflix announcement, it does look like that prediction will come true, and that the eventual "Stranger Things" Season 5 will be the series' final installment. 

But we're not at Season 5 yet, and the sad news was tempered with an intriguing synopsis for the upcoming "Stranger Things" Season 4 that reads, "It's been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time — and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down."

Clearly, Season 4 of "Stranger Things" will set up a final showdown of some sort between Team Hawkins and the nefarious alternate dimension that just won't leave their world alone. Unfortunately, the announcement offered no information regarding when the final season is expected to be released. Here's hoping we won't have to wait another three years to find out how it all ends.