We'll Have to Wait for Stranger Things Season 5 Even Longer Now That WGA Strike's in Full Swing
It looks like the young Hawkins residents will go to college by the time Season 5 premieres.
While it's been almost a year since Stranger Things Season 4 Part 2 premiered on Netflix, fans cannot hold their excitement for the fifth and last chapter of the iconic series to finally start filming. Reportedly, the Duffer brothers began working on the script for the new season in August of last year and had apparently completed the draft by May 2023, when production was scheduled to begin.
Then, however, the creators' plans were interrupted by the Writers Guild of America strike, which started on May 2 and continued into the summer, putting dozens of movies and TV series on hold. Until the writers' demands about raising residuals from streaming media and uncontrolled use of AI in screenwriting are addressed, Stranger Things and other hit shows are going to experience delays in production.
Just five days after the WGA strike broke out, the Duffer brothers took to Twitter to express their support for their colleagues and announce that production on Stranger Things Season 5 is 'not possible during this strike.' Now, almost two months later, the WGA members are still on the picket lines, and filming for the show's next season still hasn't started.
Amidst these gloomy prospects, actress Maya Hawke, who plays the charming and hilarious Robin Buckley on Stranger Things, reached out to fans to reassure them that production will continue as soon as the WGA strike is over.
'I know that the Duffer brothers have worked on this script and will continue to work on it when the strike is over,' the actress told Inverse.
While Hawke's words certainly give us hope, no one can predict when the WGA strike will end. The conflict between the writers and industry producers have been brewing for ages, long before the strike actually began, and no agreement has been reached in two months, making the future of Stranger Things Season 5 seem rather grim.
Still, given that filming was planned to start in May, we can assume that the main script for the upcoming season has already been finished, which means that the crew can storm into production as soon as the writers' demands are met.
'We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work,' the Duffers said, and Stranger Things fans join the creators' sentiment.