‘Stranger Things’ season 4: Why is Netflix delivering this disappointing update?

Stranger Things, like many TV series and films, has experienced production delays due to, say it with us now, the global COVID-19 pandemic. While the fourth season of the beloved series is currently filming, fans are wondering when it will hit Netflix. Could we possibly have a Stranger Things Christmas? Could we learn how Hopper (David Harbour) got to the gulag in 2021?

Unfortunately, one Stranger Things star has dashed the hopes of fans hoping to see the season come out in 2021. When can we realistically expect Stranger Things season 4 to hit Netflix? Why does everything take so long to come out now? Here’s everything you need to know.

Finn Wolfhard says no Stranger Things until 2022

Stranger Things season 4 is in production. According to star Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike in the series, you shouldn’t expect the season to drop until sometime in 2022, at least. In a Fanmio video call, Wolfhard said, “Season 4? It should be out sometime next year, hopefully.” 

This, however, is not a surprise to anyone who knows anything about the entertainment industry. Due to COVID-19, many series are currently experiencing hella restrictions on filming. This means that there are shorter filming days over longer periods of time in order to limit exposure. Now, these may change as more and more people are vaccinated over time.

For now, however, this is how the world is. Stranger Things and other Netflix series are no exceptions. Due to this, Stranger Things season 4 was always going to be late in coming out. 2022, honestly, is the most realistic timeframe that they could come up with given the circumstances. When that happens? We couldn’t say. But it’s a release year that makes the most sense.

What can we expect from Stranger Things season 4 on Netflix?

For one, we can expect a more mature evolution of Stranger Things kid characters. In an interview with ET, Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin on the the Netflix series, said, “When it comes to the tone of the season, it’s definitely, I think the tone is definitely matured for sure, and I think they [creators Matt and Ross Duffer] do that on purpose because I think they want their show to mature with their kids.”

He added, “As we are growing older as people, we have to grow older as characters. They’re confronted by this issue, but they embrace it, and they use it to their advantage. And they don’t freak out when we get taller or when our voices drop or anything like that. They use it and they use it as ammunition for their writing. It’s incredible what they can do. Working with them, it’s just exceptional. Always has been.”

It definitely sounds like a good through-line of the story brought up in season 3 of Stranger Things. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) felt left behind by his friends as they grew more interested in girls and less interested in Dungeons & Dragons. What this means for the characters in season 4 of the Netflix series will definitely be interesting to see play out.

So settle in for a wait?

Stranger Things fans are going to have to exercise some patience in waiting for season 4 of the show. Netflix will drop it when they want to and not a second more. Until then, all we have to do is wait and speculate when in 2022 Stranger Things season 4 will be released. Which is not that fun, look at all speculating we did for Lucifer season 5B. It’s been a lot. 

Stranger Things season 4 will be released on Netflix sometime in 2022. Probably. Maybe. We’re hoping Wolfhard is right on this one.