STRANGER THINGS: SEASON 5. Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things: Season 5. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025
It’s incredible how 9 years of goodwill can be turned on a dime, but if you’ve been on the internet since the release of Stranger Things season 5 volume 2, then you’ve almost certainly seen the sea change against Netflix’s flagship series. There’s no denying that volume 2 hasn’t gone down well with everyone, which has led to some insane conspiracy theories about there being a so-called unreleased cut, which has now been debunked.
The movement, primarily operating under the hashtag #netflixreleasethevolume2files, is demanding that Netflix release the “uncut” or “director’s cut” version of Volume 2. Proponents are alleging that deleted scenes and footage were removed from the final episodes to alter the narrative trajectory. Fans argue that these cuts made the released version feel disjointed, citing shallow character emotions, unresolved plot threads, underdeveloped arcs (especially for Will Byers), and abrupt shifts in character dynamics.
It all stems from an unsourced Google Docs document that cites anonymous sources sent to multiple individuals on social media. They cite various choices in the storyline, what actors and creators have said in interviews, and previously debunked runtimes as evidence that the show has been tampered with.
Some of the theories are pretty elaborate, with many confessing they have a bit of psychosis.
That’s led to the hashtag trending and a Change.org petition set up, which has now accrued close to 200,000 signatures, and the document and movement going viral, particularly on X with millions of views. Many are also leading calls to review bomb the season.
Many of the fans who are leading this charge belong to the “Byler” community. For the uninitiated, Byler is the portmanteau for the romantic pairing of Will Byers and Mike Wheeler. While the two are best friends in the official canon, with Mike still dating Eleven, a massive segment of the fanbase had speculated (and hoped) that their bond would evolve into a romance before the credits rolled. This theory had gained serious traction thanks to confirmed plot points regarding Will’s feelings for Mike.
Here is where the conspiracy takes root: proponents of the movement believe that scenes validating this relationship, specifically an explicit reciprocation of feelings or a different resolution to their arc, were filmed but left on the cutting room floor to maintain the status quo. They view the “disjointed” nature of Volume 2 as evidence of a last-minute re-edit to scrub the romance.
We’ve been asking around about missing footage and an unreleased version, but the reality is much simpler: it’s a work of fiction, and sometimes storylines just don’t go the way audiences want.
STRANGER THINGS: SEASON 5. (L to R) Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler and Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things: Season 5. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025
That’s now backed up by actor Randy Havens, who plays Mr. Clarke (aka Snookums). He has now addressed the ‘cut scenes’ situation in an Instagram story, writing: “There is no Snyder Cut of the show, please don’t believe everything some random ass tells you on the internet.”
The Duffer Brothers indeed said they filmed thousands of hours of footage, but that’s the case with most shows and movies, which always leave plenty on the cutting room floor. They have to.
However, given the release of Volume 2 and the ending scene of Will’s coming out, which appeared to frame his journey as one of self-acceptance, albeit one with a romantic confession to Mike, the writers seem to have firmly closed the door on Byler. While we don’t have much intel about the upcoming finale (Volume 3), throughout the releases of the first two volumes, our sources have consistently indicated that a romantic Byler endgame was never on the cards.
All this doesn’t discount many legitimate problems with Season 5, and especially Volume 2. Pacing has been all over the place in these past few episodes, with inconsistencies and many issues (as we’ve already dived into in-depth). In our opinion, the blame lies primarily with the decision to split the season into a three-part release rather than the initial two-part format, leaving us with a middle chapter that feels incomplete and not quite as universally loved as part 1.
What do you think? Should we believe three small X users that there’s an unreleased cut of Stranger Things? Let us know in the comments.
