‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 to Begin Filming in Summer 2023 [Exclusive]

The way Stranger Things Season 4 production suffered, it is unlikely that Netflix and producers would want the same thing with the final chapter of this sci-fi horror. Season 4 was the longest chapter in the series, and if go by the start date of production, it took 20 months to complete the filming, mainly because the filming was halted for almost 6-7 months because of the Pandemic.

Season 4 production wrapped in September 2021 and the show was renewed for the fifth and final season in February 2022, before the two-part premiere in May and July 2022, respectively. However, the filming for Season 5 couldn't start immediately after the renewal because the scripts were not ready, and the Duffer brothers confirmed later that they are taking a break after the tiring production of Season 4. In August 2022, the Duffer brothers confirmed that the writers' room has been set up and they started writing the screenplay for the final season.

Although series star David Harbour revealed that filming is likely to begin in early 2023, I am now hearing that it might not begin until Summer 2023. What I have heard is that Stranger Things 5 is currently expected to begin shooting in early summer, by the mid or end of June 2023, and expected to wrap in around 6-7 months by end of January 2024 (could be extended). This time the shooting will entirely take place in Atlanta, Georgia, which will save time, unlike the last time when the show was also filmed in New Mexico. Currently, there are no reports of it filming in any other location. The exact dates for the filming are yet to be revealed, and we will publish it as soon as we get the documented information. Update: Pre-production starts in early May 2023 and Season 5 will be filming under the working title, TARECO, just like Season 4.

Earlier this month, it was reported that filming will begin mid-may 2023, which now seems to be unlikely. There could be many reasons behind the delayed start, but one of them could be the cast's unavailability. Millie Bobby Brown is currently busy with Universal's The Electric State, which is scheduled to wrap next month, while her next film project is also in pre-production with a filming schedule yet to be revealed. Finn Wolfhard is also busy in the first half of 2023 with Ghostbusters 5, which is expected to begin shooting by the end of March and will wrap by the end of May or the first week of June. The upcoming Ghostbusters movie will be shooting in London, UK, which rules out the possibility of the actor juggling between both shoots if it happens in mid-May. Maya Hawke also seems to be busy with her upcoming film, Revolver, which is expected to begin shooting in April for a month. On the other hand, the series' executive producer and director Shawn Levy will also be busy starting May 2022 with the shooting of Deadpool 3, which he is directing. Although exact shooting dates for Deadpool 3 are yet to be revealed, the filming is reportedly starting Mid-may and is likely to continue for the next three months.

If we remove the pandemic, Season 4 took around 12 months to film its nine episodes, which were almost double in length of the regular episodes. Now, the eight-episode fifth and final season will take six months to complete the filming making Season 5 episodes likely to be of regular 50-60 mins length except the series finale which has been teased to be longer. Considering all these factors, the good news is the show will most likely return in 2024 (until some long reshoots are required), we can expect Stranger Things Season 5 to release in late 2024, and there couldn't be a better time for Netflix to release it during the Christmas 2024 holidays.

Earlier in Season 4, Eleven regained her powers with the help of the Nina Project. She tried to save Max with her powers, but her soul is most probably missing. Maybe, she has accidentally created another problem for Hawkins that could be shown in the fifth season. The teenagers may have escaped upside-down after Vecna was defeated, but he is not dead. Vecna is likely to return with more power and this time the whole Hawkins will be in deep trouble. In the finale of Season 4, Hawkins suffered a major earthquake due to which many people died, and many are living in the camps set up in Hawkins High. Many Citizens of Hawkins were also leaving the city. Snowy Particles of upside-down were falling from the sky of Hawkins in the last scene of the fourth season’s final episode, teasing Season 5 to be more terrifying. 

Now that the bridge between the real world and the upside-down has broken, it might be possible that in Season 5, Demogorgans’ will be seen roaming freely in the streets of the city and savoring the citizens. Netflix has already revealed the season 5 episode 1's title which will be: 'The Crawl'. After the stellar performance of Season 4, the expectations are certainly high for the final season of Stranger Things.