Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy thinks the show's filming delay could've actually made it even better than before. The 80s-set Netflix series was a near-instant hit when it premiered on the streamer in 2016, garnering positive reviews and extremely favorable fan reactions. At first, Stranger Things focused on the disappearance of young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and its connection to a mysterious realm known as the Upside Down, but subsequent seasons have expanded its reach to encompass new creatures and foreign threats. Stranger Things season 3 dropped in July 2019, and since then, fans have eagerly awaited the next installment in the saga.
Unfortunately, however, Stranger Things season 4 has been massively delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. According to star David Harbour, the show was initially set to return in early 2021, but when production was shut down in March, that no longer became feasible. Stranger Things remained halted for months and only picked up again recently. As a result, it seems likely fans will have to wait until much later in 2021 to binge-watch the latest adventures of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and the others.
Still, there might have been an upside to Stranger Things' delay. Levy, who serves as an executive producer and occasional director on the series, spoke with Collider recently about his upcoming Netflix series Dash & Lily. At the same time, Levy offered an update on Stranger Things' progress, saying their premiere date is still TBD. The positive side of it stems from the writing process and how the months-long delay changed it. Levy explained:
I’ll just say the pandemic definitely massively delayed shooting and therefore the launch of our current Season 4, date still TBD. But it impacted very positively by allowing the Duffer brothers, for the first time ever, to write the entire season before we shoot it and to have time to rewrite in a way that they rarely had before so the quality of these screenplays are exceptional, maybe better than ever.
Back in June, the Stranger Things writers revealed all the scripts for season 4 had been completed, which was well ahead of their production restart. Clearly, the writers took the time to fine-tune the story for season 4 and hopefully made it even stronger. The past three seasons of Stranger Things were very well-regarded, but there's a chance its fourth go-around could reach even bigger heights. This is certainly good news and will likely raise fans' expectations even higher.
Already, Stranger Things season 4 is shaping up to be a very exciting batch of episodes. Fans were left with the revelation that Harbour's Jim Hopper is actually alive and being held in a Russian prison, and there's a lot of curiosity surrounding why he's there and how he'll get out. Additionally, Eleven and Will moved away from Hawkins at the end of season 3, meaning fans can expect more than a few reunions when the show returns. Per Levy's update, Stranger Things season 4 still has a ways to go production-wise, but the extra wait might have been for the best in the end.
Source: Collider