New ‘Stranger Things’ Film Gets Imminent Release Date Following Season 5’s “Fake Ending”
A theory claiming that Stranger Things Season 5 concluded with a “fake ending” has gone viral in the days following the show’s epic finale, as fan dissatisfaction continues to build.
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which started back in 2016, concluded with the episode titled “Chapter Eight: The Rightside Up”. The finale premiered on December 31, New Year’s Eve, on both Netflix and in over 500 theaters across the US and Canada.
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Reaction to the finale — and to Season 5 as a whole — has been sharply divided, with a huge portion of the fanbase expressing their disappointment and dismay online.
One of the most divisive elements is the apparent death of Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. While the finale suggests that she sacrifices herself, her fate is left deliberately ambiguous, a choice that has frustrated viewers hoping for more straightforward ending.
Other criticisms focus on the script itself and the pacing, with many arguing that the season and the finale especially lacked the stakes of previous seasons. Despite positioning the conflict as a final showdown, no other major characters die, and Vecna, AKA Henry Creel, portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower, is defeated with relative ease by the team.
That dissatisfaction has now spilled over into more organized responses. An online petition calling for a newly cut version of Season 5 has surpassed 300,000 signatures, although there’s no evidence that an alternate version of the season actually exists.
Meanwhile, the “fake ending” theory has gained a lot of traction over the last few days. The theory proposes that the epilogue of “The Rightside Up” isn’t real, instead depicting a fabricated reality created by Vecna in which the surviving characters are trapped. Yikes.
Supporters of the theory (of which there are many, by the way) point to apparent clues sprinkled throughout the finale itself, as well as an odd detail on Netflix’s platform: searching for the phrase “fake ending” does return the Season 5 finale in the results!
Some fans have taken the speculation even further, becoming convinced that a “secret episode” — or a “true ending” — will debut on Netflix on January 7.
Currently, the only confirmed Stranger Things projects are the behind-the-scenes documentary “One Last Adventure” which is scheduled to release on January 12, and the animated series Tales From ’85, which is set to arrive sometime in 2026.
Whether the viral theory amounts to anything more than wishful thinking remains to be seen — but fans, it seems, aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to Stranger Things just yet.
Where Can I Watch Stranger Things?
Stranger Things seasons 1-5 are now streaming on Netflix.
Stranger Things Season 5 stars Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna/Henry Creel), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay).
Are you satisfied with how Season 5 ended? Share your thoughts with us in the comments down below!
