David Harbour Gives Update on When 'Stranger Things' Season 5 Filming Will Resume: 'We're Late'
Noah Schnapp, David Harbour, and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 4 New York Premiere
Fans have been patiently awaiting the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, and with the SAG-AFTRA strike officially over, new information is trickling in.
David Harbour, who plays police chief Jim Hopper, officially broke his silence on the status of the highly-anticipated finale during a red carpet appearance for the BoxLunch Gala honoring Feeding America, where he was honored with the Giving Ambassador.
When asked about his post-strike plans, Harbour expressed his excitement to return to Hawkins, noting that production on the series is resuming in “a couple of days.”
“I mean, we got to film that last season of ‘Stranger Things,’ don’t we? I got to be down there, like, in a couple of days,” he explained, per Variety, while echoing the fandom’s thoughts, “We got to get going — we’re late.”
Production on the Netflix series, created by the Duffer brothers, came to an abrupt halt earlier this year due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and has remained in limbo until the unions reached an agreement with studios.
The sci-fi series hit the streamer in July 2016 and instantly became a cultural phenomenon, breaking records in the process.
With fans eagerly awaiting to see how the story ends, filming was set to begin in the summer, before everything, including the writer's room, closed down in May.
Once the WGA reached an agreement with studios, those penning the script were back in business, as the cast—many of whom were just kids when the series began and are now looking forward to stepping into the next phase of their careers (including Eleven actress Millie Bobby Brown, who is planning a wedding to Jon Bon Jovi’s son Jake Bongiovi)—awaited their overdue return.
Thankfully, it seems like Harbour and Brown will get to reunite with their co-stars Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Joe Keery, Winona Ryder and Brett Gelman sooner rather than later to film the epic conclusion.
No premiere date has been established, but due to the dual strikes, it’s expected to be pushed back rather significantly. Not only do the cast schedules have to line up, but The Hollywood Reporter notes that the “elaborate visual effects” take a significant time to edit once filming is complete.
Before the strikes, season five was expected to drop in early 2025, however, now it’s likely being prolonged until later that year or even early 2026. Season 4, which introduced the evil that is Vecna, debuted in May 2022.
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