Shawn Levy, executive producer of Stranger Things, reveals why season 4 is taking so long to make and it's not just because of the pandemic. Stranger Things season 3 bowed in July 2019 over two years ago and saw the kids of Hawkins, Indiana grow up even more while they faced off against their most formidable opponent yet, the Mind Flayer. That season ended on several game-changing cliffhangers, including Will, Eleven and the Byers family leaving Hawkins and David Harbour's Hopper appearing to be dead. It is later revealed that Hopper is actually stuck in a Russian prison camp, teasing the expanding scope of the series.
Stranger Things season 4 has been beset by several delays. The series was one month into filming when the COVID-19 pandemic forced production to shutdown. Filming later resumed in September 2020, but there have been little updates since then save for a few teaser videos and hints from the cast and crew about the series. With impatience growing and the ending of filming looming, audiences are clamoring for any news about the premiere date of season 4 and while that may be coming soon, Levy revealed why the process has taken so long.
In an interview with Collider, Levy revealed that the scope of the season has made it much more difficult to film, both because of the amount of locations and because filming under health and safety protocols slows down the process somewhat. The producer also revealed that because season 4 is "by far, far, far... the most ambitious of the seasons," filming during the pandemic has been extra difficult. Lastly, and most notably, is that the creative team is still a tight-knit, small group and that certainly adds to the pressure and the slowing down of the process. Check out Levy's full statement below:
As much as it pains our viewers that it will have been so long, trust me, it pains Matt, Ross, and I more. It is a kind of perfect storm combination of COVID shutdown, slower pace of filming in COVID protocols and health protocols, which are necessary, and coincidentally we chose Season 4 to be by far — and I mean, by far, far, far — the most ambitious of the seasons.
It's already known that, as the pandemic was starting, I was over in Lithuania with David Harbour shooting that piece that revealed Hopper's alive. So you kind of know we've got some action in Hawkins, we’ve got some action apparently in Russia, and we have an entire storyline set elsewhere that will soon come to light. So this is the first season where we have this sprawling geography, multiple location shoots, and we're doing it all against a backdrop of a world that has made filming slower longer in delay. So that's why it's taking so long.
The reason Stranger Things take so long is everything is handmade by a very small group of us. The brothers, they want to direct a certain number of episodes every year, I have to direct my episodes every year. We have to be in the edit room and lay hands on all of it ourselves. If you look at the show, there's no like 12 executive producers. It's still a very small group and the controls are rigorous on each episode and on anything that the franchise does, whether it's the drive-through experience in LA or a Nike sneaker that was put out in the summer of 2019, we see and to approve it all.
Levy's teasing of an entirely new storyline in an as yet undisclosed location is just another exciting hint for the highly anticipated season. With the cast scattered around the globe, the scope of the show is truly expanding as the characters themselves grow into young adulthood. It certainly sounds like Stranger Things season 4 will be worth the wait and that wait may not be much longer.
Levy teased that Stranger Things season 4 is coming soon and while his vague comments don't reveal much at all, it's reassuring to know that filming is nearly complete and at least an announcement could be coming soon. It seems likely that the series could premiere sometime in late 2021 if not early 2022, as Levy and co. still have post-production to do on the upcoming season. With all the teases, though, Stranger Things season 4 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated television events in quite some time.
Source: Collider