Stranger Things has had a much slower filming process than usual for season 4 due to COVID-19. Stranger Things follows four friends - Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin), and Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) - who join forces with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a girl who was given psychokinetic powers through a questionable experiment, to take down the supernatural creatures wreaking havoc in Hawkins, Indiana. The show took off quickly when Netflix dropped season 1 in 2016.
Season 4 does not have an official release date. It initially intended to drop on Netflix in early 2021, but Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy noted that it will likely be released later in 2021 due to a coronavirus-induced production halt. Still, viewers have plenty to look forward to in season 4. The majority of the characters are set to return and a slew of actors has been cast to play new characters including Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Englund, and Tom Wlaschiha. Additionally, it seems like viewers will be treated to some more Dungeons & Dragons action, as the series has teased Hawkins High's D&D group, The Hellfire Club, becoming a big component of the season.
Now, Matarazzo confirms to People that the filming process for season 4 has been much slower than any other season due to COVID-19. Season 4 initially began filming in February 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic caused production to halt and it didn't resume until November 2020. Matarazzo expressed that while he appreciates the emphasis on safety, the slower pace has had an impact. Even though Stranger Things usually has a lengthy filming process, Matarazzo explained that COVID-19 took it to a new level.
"It's definitely a slower process than usual, which is really saying something because we take our sweet time making the show anyway. So it's not as steady paced or as consistent as I think any of us would like it to be, but we do our best and we're playing it by ear."
While Matarazzo remained mostly optimistic about the staggered filming process, it may have a negative impact and the season may not have as smooth of a flow. The majority of TV shows and films that were set to film in 2020 were hit with the same dilemma. Some projects like Shameless have chosen to write the coronavirus pandemic into the script so that they could resume filming safely. Others have had stop-and-go filming processes like Stranger Things. Some have even postponed filming entirely or were canceled due to this hardship, like Netflix's GLOW.
However, the slow and cautious process that Stranger Things has taken for season 4 is worth it for the safety of its cast and crew. Additionally, the slower pacing may have given actors more time to look over the script and realize new things about their characters. According to David Harbour, who plays Hawkins Police chief Jim Hopper, season 4 will bring out new sides of all the characters. Marinating in those new dimensions may have brought their interpretations to the next level. Levy also hinted that the Duffer brothers may have had time to adjust and improve the script. Viewers will have to wait and see if the slow filming process was for better or worse when Stranger Things season 4 drops on Netflix.
Source: People