A large chunk of 2024 so far has been devoted to making Stranger Things Season 5 happen behind the scenes, even as executive producer and episode director Shawn Levy celebrates the massive box office success of Deadpool & Wolverine. Fresh looks have been fairly few and far between for the all-time great Netflix original, with co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer understandably wanting to keep as much as possible hidden from coffee-downing and contemplation-friendly fans. So let’s give Millie Bobby Brown a hand for giving us some Eleven-flavored bread crumbs during the long hiatus.
What better way to start (or end) a day than with a new look at Brown’s beloved character Eleven getting back to her nosebleeding basics while filming the final season. And for fans who can’t get enough of seeing the actress alongside her pup Winnie, take comfort in knowing the poodle is also on the set, albeit with less makeup around the snout.
While one assumes that MBB is wearing the goggles as a safety precaution as an actress, it would be interesting if that and the kerchief around her neck were organic parts of her character’s costume for whatever scene is being filmed. Given her nose is bleeding, the assumption here is that she’s just used her psychic powers to take down some antagonists or to tap into another character’s headspace.
And while that usually doesn’t take place in a woodworking shop, maybe the Duffers figured out the perfect way to combine those ideas. Or maybe the teens join a paintball league and are taking on Vecna’s squad in Hawkins’ annual…paintball…tournament. Sounds natural enough, no? Okay no.
For now, we’ll allow that there’s no way to tell what Eleven is up to in that moment, but we’ll hope it wasn’t a vomit-inducing stunt scene. It does seem pretty clear that the next shot of Winnie bathed in deep red light was taken in the midst of something dark and creepy being filmed.
Fans in the comment section on Millie Bobby Brown’s post were especially delighted to see the shot where all four of her names are jotted onto the masking tape, as she officially took the last name of her beau Jake Bongiovi after their secret wedding in May. The couple enjoyed their honeymoon in early July, and she then jumped back into Eleven mode soon after.
Sidestepping the Duffer + Doggie shot, we land on that highly curious final picture, which on its surface seems like an amusingly innocuous shot of a camera operator, but is quite the foretelling shot given the location. Because that absolutely looks like the exterior of the Hawkins Lab, and those are absolutely the vines that pop up whenever the Upside Down is in the conversation.
That seems like a natural plot progression for Eleven’s former “home,” as it were, to be taken over by Vecna and other dark entities ahead of the final fight.It’s gonna be weird if this final season plays out and that lab manages to survive and continue operating after all is said and done. I mean, that’s how spinoffs happen, but still. Blow that mother up, Eleven! Just don’t sacrifice yourself in the process.
Stranger Things Season 5 will continue filming throughout the majority of the rest of the year, meaning we won’t be seeing it popping up on the 2024 TV schedule, but rather somewhere in 2025. Until then, keep your noses clean.
