The fourth season of Stranger Things is already well in the rearview mirror for those with a Netflix subscription, but with Stranger Things Season 5 a ways off yet (as it just began filming in January 2024), there are some concerns that go beyond fans’ great desire to see the final season ASAP. Well, star Millie Bobby Brown just turned 20, and her birthday pics show what a challenge the show will have in its fifth season.
How Did Millie Bobby Brown Celebrate Her Birthday And How Does It Prove The Challenge Of Stranger Things Season 5?
As could be expected from a lot of people her age, Millie Bobby Brown had quite a celebration for her 20th birthday recently, which definitely didn’t include anything like the dreaded Vecna. She had a party with her nearest and dearest, including fiancé Jake Bongiovi, at New York’s Cathédrale Restaurant, and while it certainly shows the Eleven actress having tons of fun and fully enjoying her night, it also shows just how difficult it’s going to be for Stranger Things Season 5 to make all the “kids” look five to six years younger. Take a look:
Alright, this is certainly not the showiest “Hey, y’all, I’m GROWN!” post that anyone could have put out into the world, but there’s no denying now that Brown, and her similarly aged co-stars from the sci-fi/horror hit, are 100% adults and look like it. Everyone’s taller, more sophisticated looking, and any previous hints of baby fat have melted away, leaving us with a leaner, absolutely more mature bunch.
Seeing as how the main group of high schoolers in the series were only 14-15 years old the last time we saw them, those behind the show have likely had to come up with myriad ways to try to hide just how grown Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Gaten Matarazzo, and Noah Schnapp are now that they’re finally filming the follow-up to the blockbuster events of the Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 ending.
One thing that the drama is paying close attention to is how the characters dress, as costume designer Amy Parris recently told CinemaBlend’s Laura Hurley. Her team is working to help age down the actors, but still keep things in line with both the time period of the 1980s, the tone of the show, and what works for each character and the actor who plays them.
Apparently, the trick is not going “too juvenile,” because it won’t “read authentic” in the final episodes. The costume department is, obviously, working with the hair and makeup masters who are also behind the scenes to make sure El, Mike, Lucas, Max, Dustin and Will still look young enough for the period in their lives we left them in. It seems like they have quite the task ahead, but I’m still sad that they don’t also have to worry about doing such work for our late, great Eddie Munson.
Of course, seeing as how many details of the season are still under wraps, it’s not impossible that we could get a rather significant time jump between Seasons 4 and 5, or even in the midst of the fifth season’s episodes that would allow our grown protagonists to look more like people of their actual ages. We’ll just have to wait and see what those installments hold for us, and that's getting harder and harder to do!
