Like just about every other major film and TV production going on this year, Netflix's Stranger Things suffered a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. While some would view this filming delay as a setback -- the fourth season's release is still to be determined -- producer Shawn Levy explained to Collider that he believes the extra time off has "positively" impacted the upcoming season.
“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.”
Although series creator and director Matt Duffer already knows how Stranger Things will end, the journey to get there can change throughout production. With shooting delayed due to COVID-19, it sounds like the Duffer brothers used this extra time to really go over the scripts and story with a fine-tooth comb.
Production on Season 4 of Stranger Things began in February with the expectation of releasing on Netflix during the 2020-2021 season. The start of production even kicked off with an intriguing teaser that saw the return of David Harbour's Jim Hopper now imprisoned in Russia after his mysterious disappearance at the end of Season 3. Unfortunately, that intriguing teaser was the last we saw or heard of Stranger Things as production was halted in March, leaving the highly anticipated season with no release date.
It sounds like things are back on track with, however, and the season will hopefully premiere on Netflix sometime next year. As teased in the initial announcement, Season 4 will open up the series to plotlines outside of Hawkins, Indiana. While Hopper is trapped in the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, there's a new horror back in the States that's beginning to surface -- "something that connects everything."