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David Harbour Says ‘Stranger Things 5’ Will Start Filming in June—Here’s Everything We Know

After nearly three years of waiting, Stranger Things 4 finally dropped last summer. But now, more than six months after that explosive finale, one major question remains: When will we get season 5?

The Duffer Brothers, who created the smash science fiction series, revealed in February 2022 that (sadly) the upcoming fifth season will be the last. However, while the coronavirus pandemic delayed filming on the fourth season, the brothers revealed in an interview with Variety that we can expect the gap between the fourth and fifth seasons to be much smaller. Plus, David Harbour just revealed that filming on season 5 begins in June.

Keep reading for more details about Stranger Things 5.

1. When Can We Expect Season 5 of Stranger Things?

In a statement given to Variety, Matt and Ross Duffer said, “During the six month pandemic hiatus, we outlined season 5 and pitched it to Netflix. Everyone there had also been present when we first pitched the show in 2015. While we were strangers then, we were now friends, and there were a lot of tears when it was over. It’s just been an extraordinary journey for all of us, and while it’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end, we feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing partners.”

Even better, the Duffer Brothers added, “The gap should be quite a bit shorter this time, due to the fact that we already have an initial outline, and we can’t imagine there will be another six-month forced hiatus.” (However, the writer of the article noted that we shouldn't hold them to that promise.)

David Harbour in 'Stranger Things.'
Netflix

2. When Will Stranger Things 5 Start Filming?

At the Middle East Film & Comic Con, David Harbour (who plays Jim Hopper) revealed that Stranger Things 5 will begin filming in June 2023.

“We're walking into season five,” he said. “I've got a couple more months to train. We start shooting that in June, though, and that will be the final season.”

Filming for prior seasons of Stranger Things usually lasted for months. While Stranger Things 4 was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the season before that filmed from April 2018 to November 2018. So, we can likely expect a similar timeline for the filming of season 5.

3. What Is Stranger Things 5 About?

Though we don’t know the central plot yet, the crew previously teased what's to come in Stranger Things season five. In August 2022, the writer’s room account posted an image to Twitter with the caption “Day 1” written on the top. The picture showed a whiteboard with “Stranger Things 5” written with a black and red marker.

4. Will Season 5 Be the Final Season?

Sadly, yes.

Back in February 2022, the Duffer Brothers confirmed that season five will be the show's last in an open letter to fans. The creators wrote, “Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things. At the time, we predicted the story would last four or five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but—as you'll soon see for yourselves—we are now hurtling toward our finale. Season 4 will be the penultimate season; Season 5 will be the last.”

However, that doesn't necessarily mean fans will have to say goodbye to the Upside Down for good. The Duffer Brothers also teased the possibility of a spin-off, adding, “There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things; new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes.”

*Fingers crossed*

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Netflix

5. How Many Episodes Will There Be?

So far, every season of Stranger Things has been a total of either 8 or 9 episodes, so it's fair to assume that the final season will follow this pattern (and maybe even offer a couple more so that the series can wrap up nicely).

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Netflix

6. Is There a Trailer?

No trailer has been released yet since filming has not commenced on Stranger Things 5, but you can bet we'll have our eyes peeled for the minute that one drops.

stranger hero4
Netflix

7. Which Cast Members Will Return?

Netflix has not revealed which cast members will be returning for season five of Stranger Things. However, we're hoping that the entire principal cast will take part in the final episodes, including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, Natalie Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Maya Hawke.

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