Since 2016, Stranger Things has captivated audiences all over the world with its rousing blend of Spielbergian sci-fi horror and Stephen King homage. But soon, Netflix’s beloved flagship show will be coming to an end. The fifth and final season of Stranger Things will bid goodbye to the town of Hawkins, Indiana, which has weathered all kinds of attacks from monsters, Russians, and superpowered children. But Stranger Things Season 5 will bring Hawkins’ greatest battle yet, as the Upside Down prepares to go right side up and invade the Indiana town.
Unfortunately, it’s a battle we won’t see for a while. After Stranger Things showrunners the Duffer Brothers began work on scripts for Season 5 in August 2022, the show was set to begin shooting in May 2023. But production ground to a halt when the WGA strike went into effect that same month. The Duffer Brothers decided to show support for the strike, tweeting that “writing doesn’t start after filming begins” and joining the efforts to get writers their terms. In other words: production on Stranger Things Season 5 is on pause until the strike is over.
Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, who can be seen now in Wes Anderson’s charming alien contact movie Asteroid City, confirms to Inverse that the Duffer Brothers are still supporting the strike, putting any more writing on hold until after the strike is done.
“I know that the Duffer Brothers have worked on this script and will continue to work on it when the strike is over,” Hawke says.
Though the Duffer Brothers had given sneak peeks at early scripts of Stranger Things Season 5, Hawke seems to suggest that scripts for the season are not quite done yet — an interesting thing to note, since the show was set to start filming in May 2023. But writing is never done once the scripts are turned in, and she may also be referring to the fact that rewriting during production is as essential as those first drafts.
Hawke also expresses hope that the Duffers “come to a fair deal with the same love and intensity and excitement they have all the other seasons, but with the added pressure and specificity of it being our farewell.”
