Is Stranger Things Season 5 Really Coming Not Sooner Than in 2025?
Writers Guild strike plus extended production equals a three-year hiatus.
The Duffer brothers' addictive horror trip down memory lane has been captivating viewers since its first season, which debuted on Netflix in 2016. Since then, Stranger Things has become a true global phenomenon with a cult following. The only thing that seemed to bother fans over the years was the irregular release schedule, with breaks ranging from 15 months to nearly two years between seasons.
The very last hiatus, however, is shaping up to be much longer than that, closer to three years.
Season 5 of Stranger Things is set to be the last one, and the burning question in every fan discussion is when exactly it's going to come out. While the official release date hasn't been announced, the general consensus, based on the initial shooting schedules, was that the much-anticipated final chapter would land on Netflix sometime in 2024.
David Harbour, who plays everyone's favorite Jim Hopper, told Collider in March of this year that the season would begin filming this summer.
'We're walking into season five. I've got a couple more months to train. We start shooting that in June, though, and that will be the final season,' Harbour's exact words were.
Now, however, the start of filming as well as the release date for Season 5 have been postponed indefinitely due to the Writers Guild of America strike that broke out in May. The Duffers brothers confirmed on Twitter that the series' production has been halted in support of Hollywood writers.
'Duffers here. Writing does not stop when filming begins. While we're excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then — over and out,' the creators wrote, adding the hashtag #wgastrong.
There is no clear indication as to how long the strike will continue, and some industry insiders say it could last well into the fall. As a result, the premiere date for the fifth and final installment of Stranger Things could be pushed back to as late as 2025.
Now, it is everyone's hope that the writers and studios will find common ground sooner rather than later, and the production on the fan-favorite show will resume before the Hawkins kids grow up and have children of their own.