When does ‘Stranger Things’ season 5 start filming?

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things will arguably be the biggest event in Netflix’s history. As the platform’s most-watched show of all time, there’s a lot riding on its shoulders to follow in its own footsteps. The Duffer Brothers and crew will likely go to great pains to make sure it lives up to fans’ expectations. 

That’s all fine and dandy, but the real question is just how long will that take? The notoriously large gap between seasons three and four, which spanned almost three full years, doesn’t bode well for season five. Thankfully, there isn’t a worldwide pandemic to contend with this time around, which is good because our cast isn’t getting any younger. 

Before long, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Max (Sadie Sink) will have to face their biggest obstacle yet. Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has now successfully opened all four gates to the Upside Down, Hawkins has officially been torn apart, monsters that used to lurk in the dark can now supposedly roam free, and Vecna himself is gearing up for revenge on Eleven and her band of friends who fought so hard to kill him. 

Virtually everything except the premiere episode’s name has been kept under wraps, but thanks to a slip-up from one of the cast members, we now know when the fifth season will begin filming, meaning we’re one step closer to figuring out when season five might air. 

Noah Schnapp accidentally let slip when Stranger Things season five begins filming

In a TikTok live video on Jan. 26, Noah Schnapp revealed that filming for season five will begin filming sometime in May. When asked by a fan if school will interfere with Stranger Things, the 18-year-old actor replied, “No, it’s not. I’m done with school in May, and starting to shoot in May.”

Not including the anomalous season four, Stranger Things typically shoots for around seven months. Season three begin filming in April 2018 and wrapped in Nov. 2018. It then premiered on July 5, 2019. 

All in all, a total of 15 months passed from the start of season three’s filming to its premiere. If season five adheres to a similar schedule, that would mean a premiere date sometime in the middle of summer 2024. 

Unfortunately, that goes against what actor Finn Wolfhard said about being 22 by the time season five comes out. As we mentioned, the Duffer Brothers will likely to take great pains to make sure season five goes out with a bang, and if that means a longer production process than normal, they’ll do it. 

While we’d love nothing more than to watch new episodes right this very moment, we appreciate the showrunners’ level of care and will quell our impatience for now. Let’s not get out of hand, of course. We don’t want another three-year delay. We’ll settle for two and a half. That we can do.