Like many TV shows, Netflix’s Stranger Things was forced to shutter production back in March due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This set the production schedule back quite a ways and has put the new season’s release window in flux. Filming would eventually resume in October and is currently underway in Atlanta. Although both Netflix and the creatives behind the hit series would have preferred things to move along as scheduled, one producer believes the delay has had a positive effect on Season 4.
Stranger Things producer and director Shawn Levy recently spoke about the production changes that have affected work on the upcoming fourth season. Levy stated that while the pandemic did lead to massive delays for the show, it also created a positive situation for the show’s writing team:
I’ll just say the pandemic definitely massively delayed shooting and therefore the launch of our current Season 4, date still TBD. But it impacted very positively by allowing the Duffer brothers, for the first time ever, to write the entire season before we shoot it and to have time to rewrite in a way that they rarely had before so the quality of these screenplays are exceptional, maybe better than ever.
Based on Shawn Levy’s comments to Collider, it would appear that the delay gave creators Matt and Ross Duffer and their writing staff time to refine the season’s scripts. As Levy mentions, the scripts are typically rewritten as filming progresses, but that may not be the case this time around.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard inklings of the Season 4 scripts being completed. Natalia Dyer previously stated her belief that the writers would now had more time to work out scripts so that writing would be finished by the time filming restarted. Her co-star, Joe Keery, expressed sentiments similar to Levy’s, in that he believed all of the extra time would allow the Duffers to refine the story and deliver a high-quality product.
Filming for Stranger Things Season 4 originally commenced in Lithuania back in February before moving to Atlanta. After two weeks of shooting in the states, the show halted production. Members of the cast and crew have handled the delay in different ways. While some have remained more upbeat, Finn Wolfhard was somewhat disappointed by the delay, especially since the show was ahead of schedule before the shutdown happened.
Nevertheless, from what we’ve heard about the season so far, it should be well worth the wait. David Harbour has hinted to fans seeing a new version of fan-favorite character Jim Hopper, and the actor has also compared the upcoming season to Indiana Jones. Rest assured that we will eventually get Stranger Things Season 4. It’s just going to take longer than we thought.
Until Season 4 arrives, you can stream the first three seasons of Stranger Things on Netflix now.
