Stranger Things creators say they've known the final scene for "six or seven years," and "always knew what the last 40 minutes were going to be"

The start of Stranger Things season 5 is just around the corner, and though it's taken nearly 10 years to get here, the show's creators Ross and Matt Duffer say they've known how the series would end for nearly as long.

Speaking in a panel at Italy's Lucca Comics and Games Festival (via Variety) alongside Stranger Things cast members Gaten Matarazzo (who plays Dustin Henderson), Noah Schnapp (the actor behind Will Byers), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), and Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), the Duffers reminisced about planning the ending of the show, which they came up with years ago.

"Obviously, it's stressful trying to figure out how you want to end the show," Ross Duffer explains. "Luckily, it was about six or seven years ago that we knew at least what the final scene is. We always knew what the last 40 minutes were going to be."

The Duffers previously explained how they've drawn on some of the best TV finales of all time to craft their big ending, aiming for a big emotional impact that will leave audiences feeling satisfied.

"You are having to let go in a way and say goodbye," co-creator Matt Duffer tells the panel. "So we weren't thinking about that too much when we were writing that final episode. But once we read it through with [the actors], we realized how much it reflected our own experience. And hopefully that emotion that we felt writing it – and our actors felt performing it – is going to come through to the audience."

Stranger Things season 5, Volume 1, arrives this November 26, with volumes 2 and 3 following soon after on December 25 and December 31. Until then, check out our guide to the best shows on Netflix.