‘The world is a different place’: David Harbour teases where ‘Stranger Things’ season 5 will kick off

The agonizing wait for the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things isn’t getting any shorter, not with the dual actors’ and writers’ strike keeping production in limbo. However, thanks to some key phrasing from our very own David Harbour aka Jim Hopper, we now have a first-hand account of what to expect when we finally return to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. 

Granted, Harbour stayed well within his contract’s confidentiality clause by not oversharing, but he did whet our appetites just enough to have us whistling. While speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (filmed prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike), the 48-year-old actor was about two seconds away from climbing out of a grave of his own making when he hinted at the starting point for Stranger Things 5. Given the increasingly delicate nature of baby fat and concerns that the main cast might age out of their roles before filming begins, Harbour’s response was on the precipice of being huge should it allude to a time jump. 

“After where season 4 ended — when you watch us on that hill looking at the ash and the smoke and fires –we’re going to start…”

Here Harbour pauses as if to catch himself

“Somewhere after that. So you’ve got to imagine the world is a different place.”

So close, but no cigar. Harbour and co. are keeping the specific timeframe of season five under wraps, leaving many, this writer included, anxious to learn what will happen to the inhabitants of Hawkins (and the world) now that Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) opened all four gates between the real world and the Upside Down, killing Sadie Sink’s Max (who Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven then revived) in the process. 

In the same Happy Sad Confused interview, Harbour also teased some of the biggest and grandest set pieces in season five that the show has ever seen. 

“It’s a hell of an undertaking, too. I mean, the set pieces and the things in the scripts that we saw are bigger than anything we’ve done in the past.” 

Since production hasn’t officially commenced, Harbour is likely drawing from the images conjured from reading the script alone, not anything he’s seen in person. Speaking of which, Harbour did manage to read the scripts prior to the WGA strike, and teased a blaze of glory for the homestretch of this sci-fi cultural phenomenon.

“They’re terrific, as per usual. They continue to outdo themselves, these currently-on-strike writers called the Duffer Brothers.”

Back in February, Harbour expressed readiness to see the series come to an end. Going into his ninth year being part of the show, he said it’s time to “try other things and different projects.” At present, that includes starring in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts, scheduled to premiere on December 20, 2024, but with Marvel’s constant calendar shuffles, who really knows anymore? 

When all is said and done, the final episodes of Stranger Things will be “very, very moving,” according to Harbour. The Duffer brothers have confirmed Will Byer (Noah Schnapp) will take center stage again, bringing the whole series full circle from that very first season. What will happen to Max (Sink), what will become of Eddie (Joseph Quinn), and how our group of nerds will handle Vecna’s apocalyptic takeover are all questions we must hold out just a little while longer to find out.