Season 4 premiere of Stranger Things on Netflix is taking longer than expected, but the pandemic is not the only culprit: according to series director and producer Shawn Levy, one reason for the delay is that the season will be the biggest and most ambitious of the series.
However, Stranger Things fans eagerly awaiting the release of Season 4 aren’t the only ones annoyed: the filmmakers preparing the new chapters can’t wait for the content to be released either.
The show’s first season was a smash hit in 2016; Season 2 premiered in October 2017 and Season 3 was released in July 2019. Season 4 will have the longest hiatus as we are in the second half of 2021 and production is still reaching the final stretch.
Why is Stranger Things 4 taking so long?
The combination of factors includes the outbreak of the pandemic at the time filming was taking place in early 2020. Production was halted for several months, and when it returned, new security protocols made filming an even slower process than filming. habitual.
Levy explained to Collider, during an interview about his new film, Free Guy, that the delay in season 4 of Stranger Things is also due to the fact that producers Matt and Ross Duffer conceived the series’ biggest season.
“As much as it hurts our viewers that it’s been so long, believe me, it hurts us more. It’s kind of the perfect mix of Storm with Covid, slower-paced filming with the new health protocols that are needed, and we coincidentally chose season 4 to be by far – and I mean, far, far, far – the most ambitious of all”, said the director.
Levy added that, in contrast to the first three seasons, when the production was based primarily in Georgia, season 4 goes outside of Hawkins: the universe will be extended to Russia and elsewhere that will soon surface.
“This is the first season where we have this extensive geography, lots of footage in different locations, and we’re doing it all against a backdrop of a world that has made filming slower and slower. That’s why it’s taking so long,” said the producer .
Levy further emphasized that Stranger Things is handcrafted by a very small group. “If you look at the show, there aren’t 12 executive producers. It’s still a very small group and the controls are strict in every episode and in everything the franchise does, whether it’s the drive-thru experience in Los Angeles or a Nike shoe released in the summer of 2019, we see and approve everything,” he concluded.
Are you looking forward to season 4 of Stranger Things?
