While the final season of “Stranger Things” continues to be delayed by Hollywood labor disputes, David Harbour confirmed that he received the Season 5 scripts prior to the writers strike, teasing that the ending is “very moving.”
Harbour said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that while he hasn’t read the final ending yet, he knows generally how the story resolves. “I know what it is,” he said of the ending, in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I know where we net out and it’s very, very moving. That is the term I will use.”
Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper on the Netflix sci-fi series, suggested that Season 5 won’t pick up immediately after the fallout of Season 4, which ended with Max (Sadie Sink) in a coma and the Upside Down seeping into Hawkins.
“After where Season 4 ended — when you watch us on that hill looking at the ash and the smoke fires — we’re going to start somewhere after that,” he said. “So you’ve gotta imagine the world is a different place.”
He also teased that the final installment of “Stranger Things” is the biggest yet, praising showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer.
“They’re terrific, as per usual. They continue to outdo themselves, these currently on strike writers called the Duffer brothers,” Harbour said. “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.”
“Stranger Things” Season 4 premiered on Netflix in two installments in 2022, but the timeline for Season 5 is still unclear, as the show cannot begin production until after the actors strike ends.
“It’ll take a while to shoot, which will be tough since we can’t get started yet, but it is what it is. I’m excited to go back. I’m excited to wrap it up in a bold, amazing way,” Harbour said. “I’m excited to really swing with this character, because you know they’re going to pay off these OG characters: Eleven, Hopper, Joyce, Will, Mike. They’re going to pay them off in big ways because they’ve lived with you for the past eight years.”
Harbour also stars in Sony’s video game racing film “Gran Turismo,” out Aug. 25.
Watch his full interview below.
