This time last year, the first seven episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 had been available to Netflix subscribers for a month, and the season’s final two episodes followed on July 1. But even before Season 4’s arrival, fans had already been informed that Stranger Things will end with Season 5, so needless to say that there’s a lot of anticipation surrounding how the show will wrap things up for our protagonists in Hawkins, Indiana. However, given current events, one of Stranger Things’ main actors has shared that we’ll be in for an even longer wait for this final season.
While chatting about her time on the 2023 new movie release Asteroid City, Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley in Stranger Things, told Inverse that Season 5 is still in the scripting stage, and showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer, a.k.a. The Duffer Brothers, won’t finish putting words to paper until the writers strike has concluded. In her words:
I know that the Duffer Brothers have worked on this script and will continue to work on it when the strike is over.
Like so many movies and TV shows in Hollywood, the writers strike has impacted Stranger Things in a big way, with The Duffer Brothers sharing in May that production on Season 5 “is not possible during this strike,” and that they hoped "a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work.” Back in March, David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, said that cameras were expected to begin rolling in May, so had the strike not unfolded, the cast and crew would be weeks into filming at this point, and The Duffer Brothers presumably would have been putting the finishing touches on this saga writing-wise as the first episodes were being shot.
However, Stranger Things Season 5 can only start moving forward again once the writers strike has been resolved, and even then, it may take even more time for principal photography to kick off. It’s not like the cast and crew can all just start working in the final season the day after the strike is officially over; schedules need to be figured out and time needs to be blocked off for everyone to come together. As such, even if the strike ends in the next month or two, it’s entirely possible that Stranger Things Season 5 won’t be able to begin principal photography until next year, which from there could mean the completed season won’t come out until 2025.
This timing is just speculation on my part, but the important part is that Stranger Things fans will have to continue being patient for the final chapter of this story. Fortunately though, we haven’t been entirely deprived of Season 5 updates lately, as it was announced that Terminator’s Linda Hamilton has been cast in an undisclosed role. That said, she’ll be just one of a few fresh faces added to the lineup, as The Duffer Brothers said in August 2022 that they were doing their best not to introduce too many new characters in favor of focusing on “the OG characters.” As far as Robin is concerned, Maya Hawke recently said that she has “mixed” feelings about her character’s love life being further explored, as she values Robin’s friendships, particularly with Joe Keery’s Steve.
Whenever Stranger Things Season 5 does begin production, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know. Until then, check out the other best shows on Netflix currently available to watch, and browse through the Netflix TV schedule to learn what programming the streaming service will deliver soon.
