The eerie hum of Eggo waffles and synth-heavy ’80s anthems is back, and it’s echoing through the streets of our own Hollywood of the South.
Netflix unleashed the official trailer for Stranger Things Season 5 on Thursday, Oct. 30, sending chills down the spines of fans worldwide – and giving Atlanta’s film community one last nostalgic thrill.
Stranger Things 5 Trailer Released
Watch the trailer here:
As the Duffer Brothers wrap up their decade-long saga in the Peach State, where much of the show’s magic has been conjured, we’re breaking down the trailer’s teases, the plot buildup from seasons past, and when you can stream the final battle against the Upside Down.
For locals, this isn’t just TV – it’s a badge of honor. Stranger Things has poured millions into Georgia’s economy, transforming quiet neighborhoods into Hawkins hotspots and drawing tourists to our backroads.
Season 5 filming wrapped earlier this year at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta and spots like Chattahoochee Hills, where a new WSQK radio station set stood in for the show’s fictional broadcasts.
Even the iconic Creel House, Vecna’s haunted lair, got extra screen time thanks to reshoots at Rome’s historic Claremont House.
“It’s bittersweet saying goodbye to these sets,” said a production insider. “Atlanta’s been our Upside Down anchor from Day One.”
Trailer Breakdown: Hawkins on the Brink
The two-minute trailer, dropped at 9 a.m. ET, is a masterclass in tension-building. It opens with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) staring into a fractured mirror, her nose bleeding as red lightning cracks across a storm-ravaged Hawkins sky.
Cut to the core crew – Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), and Will (Noah Schnapp) – pedaling furiously through overgrown streets, vines from the Upside Down snaking over familiar landmarks like the Wheeler house (filmed in East Point).
Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) looms larger than ever, his clock-chiming curse now a full-blown apocalypse. Hopper (David Harbour) rallies the adults in a bunker that screams Atlanta’s surplus stores, while Joyce (Winona Ryder) clutches a string of Christmas lights – a nod to her Season 1 desperation.
Newcomer Linda Hamilton joins as a grizzled operative, barking orders amid military quarantines. And yes, there’s a heart-wrenching glimpse of Max (Sadie Sink), comatose since her Season 4 showdown, whispering, “Friends don’t lie.”
The trailer’s synth score, courtesy of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, pulses with dread, remixing Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” into something apocalyptic.
“This is the endgame,” teases the voiceover. “Hawkins falls. Who rises?” No major spoilers, but it promises “film-length” episodes and a time jump to fall 1987, with the gang looking a tad more battle-worn.
Fans flooded social media, with #StrangerThings5 trending nationwide. “Atlanta, you birthed this monster – now help us slay it,” tweeted local cosplayer @ATLUpsideDown.
The Plot So Far: From Demogorgon to Doomsday
To appreciate the finale, let’s rewind through the Hawkins hellscape. Stranger Things kicked off in 1983 with a bang: young gamer Will Byers vanishes into the Upside Down, a nightmarish parallel dimension, after a Dungeons & Dragons session gone wrong.
His pals – brainy Mike, loyal Lucas, and quippy Dustin – stumble upon Eleven, a buzz-cut telekinetic runaway from Hawkins Lab, where shady government experiments tore open the rift.
Season 1’s flower-faced Demogorgon terrorizes the town, but Eleven banishes it – at great personal cost, vanishing in a gate explosion. Hopper adopts her in secret, while Will returns… changed, haunted by visions.
Fast-forward to 1984: Season 2 ups the ante with demodogs and a hulking Mind Flayer puppeteering Will. Eleven uncovers her past, including her “sister” Eight, and closes the lab’s gate for good. But the Upside Down’s tendrils linger, infecting Hawkins like a virus.
By 1985’s Season 3, teen drama mixes with Soviet intrigue at the Starcourt Mall (shot at Atlanta’s own Douglasville spots).
The Mind Flayer possesses Billy (Dacre Montgomery), leading to a fiery mall meltdown. Hopper “dies” in the blast – or does he? Eleven loses her powers, the Byers family relocates to California, and a post-credits tease reveals Russian experiments with baby Demogorgons.
Season 4, our most globe-trotting yet (with Atlanta.
Final Word
With more than 1,000 movie and TV projects just in the last few years, the film industry has generated more than $9 billion for the state of Georgia.
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