Stranger Things has been hit by a sizeable delay thanks to the pandemic, with production on season 4 having been on hold for months now. While we won’t be getting the next run of the smash hit Netflix drama as soon as we hoped, then, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. And that’s because creators the Duffers have confirmed that the show will definitely continue beyond this fourth batch of episodes.
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the brothers outright stated that season 4 won’t be it for the series. Though it had been reported last year that Netflix was planning to end it after the fourth run, it seems things have now changed. In fact, Ross Duffer revealed that the pandemic forcing them to hit the pause button was actually helpful for figuring out the future of Stranger Things and working out how many more seasons they need.
“Season four won’t be the end. We know what the end is, and we know when it is. [The pandemic] has given us time to look ahead, figure out what is best for the show. Starting to fill that out gave us a better idea of how long we need to tell that story.”
Previously, the creators have remained tight-lipped about whether season 4 will be the last or not, but now we can say for sure it won’t be. That begs the question, though: will Stranger Things end with season 5 instead? That has theorized before now, but Duffer’s words may suggest that the pair have redefined their plans and are now thinking of doing a sixth season, too. Similar to what’s happening with another Netflix hit, The Crown.
That said, with the younger cast getting older all the time (you know, as people tend to do) and becoming more and more in-demand, maybe there’s only one more season in Stranger Things‘ shelf-life at most. In the short term, season 4 – described as bigger and bolder and the scariest yet – is expected to start shooting again in September. Hopefully it can still arrive on Netflix sometime in 2021.