With Stranger Things season 5 volumes 1 and 2 now out on Netflix, thousands of users and fans had claimed that many episodes were clipped from its original runtime. Many took to social media to show "proof" from an unsourced Google document that scenes involving Will and Mike, Will and Eleven and others were cut from series to alter the narrative trajectory. More than 200,000 people had also signed a Change.org petition demanding that scenes from the final season be released, with many sharing their disappointment on volume 1 and 2.
Dismissing these viral claims, Randy Havens who plays Mr Clarke in the series has now confirmed that there are no such cuts and unreleased footage from the show. "There’s no secret Snyder cut of the show," Havens, wrote in a message he shared via his Instagram Stories on Sunday. "Don’t believe everything some random a** tells you on the internet."
Created by Duffer Brothers, this eight-episode season sees the return of beloved characters played by Millie Bobby Brown (Millie Bobby Brown), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler), Jake Connelly (Derek Turnbow), Alex Breaux (Lt. Akers), and Linda Hamilton (Dr. Kay). Jamie Campbell Bower returns as Vecna/ Mr Whatsit/ Henry while Linnea Berthelsen came back as Kali from season 2. Nell Fisher takes the centrestage as Holly Wheeler this season who is trapped in the hands of Vecna.
Volume 2 ends with Holly being captured once again by Vecna, along with her classmates to "form a new world". They are all trapped in his lair to complete Vecna's final mission while the team of Will, Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Jim Hopper, Mr Clarke, Erica, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, along with Kali, and others are working on their ultimate plan on heading to the upside down for one last time to defeat Vecna.
Volume 3, which marks the finale episode of Stranger Things series releases on New Years eve. It will be releasing in theatres simultaneously with its streaming premiere.