Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy is eager to get the fifth and final season in producer once the SAG-AFTRA strike ends.
In an interview with TheWrap, Levy gave a status update on the popular ’80s-set science fiction series on Netflix. With the writers’ strike over, Levy revealed that the Duffer Brothers are on top of the scripts for the epic final season. Until the actors’ strike ends, however, a start date for the fifth season remains uncertain. “I can say that we are hoping to start filming as soon as possible. We really need the actor’s strike resolved first. The Duffers have been hard at work since the writer strike ended,” Levy said.
The finale episode of Stranger Things Season 4 saw the town of Hawkins get ripped by Vecna’s gates as the Upside Down begins its true invasion. At the time of production in 2020, the fourth season was notoriously delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the series did not return to Netflix for another two years. With the ongoing strike impeding production on the final season, one Stranger Things star is eager to move on: Eleven actor Millie Bobby Brown.
“When you’re ready, you’re like, ‘All right, let’s do this. Let’s tackle this last senior year. Let’s get out of here,’” Brown said said. “Stranger Things takes up a lot of time to film and it’s preventing me from creating stories that I’m passionate about. So I’m ready to say, ‘Thank you and goodbye.’”
Stranger Things on the London stage
While fans will have to continue waiting for Season Five, the franchise will be hitting the London stage soon with Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Serving as a prequel featuring the characters of Sheriff Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers at younger ages, Levy expressed confidence in the production’s success while assuring Stranger Things fans that the cast and crew are ready to get back to work.
“It has exceeded all our expectations. We’re very excited to share that with the world,” Levy said. “We are raring to go — our cast, our crew. Everyone not only needs to get back to work because we have many hundreds of crew members who have not been able to make a living since the strikes began, but we will be shooting very shortly after the actor’s strike ends.”
The first four seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream on Netflix.
