Stranger Things Season 4 Star Casts Doubt on September Filming Restart

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Stranger Things was supposed to resume filming for season 4 in September, but now star Maya Hawke says that may not happen. Hawke joined the cast of the Netflix series during season 3 as Robin Buckley, an employee at the ice cream shop where Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) works. She decodes an important radio transmission that leads them to the Russian lab under the Starcourt Mall.

The show stars Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Sadie Sink as a group of kids who are sucked into the world of the supernatural after one of them gets trapped in an alternate dimension. Stranger Things has consistently been one of the most-watched series on Netflix and it has been consistently praised for its storytelling and world-building.

Stranger Things began filming its fourth season back in February 2020, with an aim of releasing it in early 2021. However, production was shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Filming was supposed to resume in September, but Hawke told AP Entertainment that might not be the case. In the quick video interview, Hawke says "it was looking incredibly likely" production would resume in September. However, she adds, "we'll see." That seems to imply that Hawke is unsure whether that September filming goal is realistic. She praises Netflix and SAG for being "really responsible" in making sure everything is safe before the cast and crew return. She also says that everyone involved is excited to get back to work.

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Filming delays due to coronavirus are affecting every part of the industry, with many films and television shows experiencing major production delays. Finn Wolfhard did mention in June that production had been ahead of schedule before the shutdown, which may make it easier to jump back in once they're allowed to start filming again. Regardless, it seems like the early 2021 release date is unrealistic.

While some films and television shows are resuming in the U.K., the future remains unclear for filming in the U.S. California, in particular, has seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases and a tiered testing system could slow things down even further. Some states, like Georgia, have guidelines in place for resuming media productions, but they're cumbersome enough that it makes filming nearly impossible. Georgia's stipulation that actors be separated by a clear barrier present a huge issue in having characters interact, not to mention the difficulty in making the barrier invisible to viewers. Ultimately, it'd be great if Stranger Things could resume filming in September but, at this point, it's looking unlikely.