David Harbour is hinting at what “Stranger Things” fans can expect from the final season.
The actor, who plays police chief Jim Hopper on the hit Netflix series, explained during the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that while Season 5 will not pick up immediately following the events of the Season 4 finale, the last installment is definitely worth waiting for.
“After where Season 4 ended — when you watch us on that hill looking at the ash and the smoke fires — we’re going to start somewhere after that,” Harbour said. “So you’ve got to imagine the world is a different place.”
As for the final episode, Harbour added, “I know what it is. I know where we net out and it’s very, very moving. That is the term I will use.”
Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, “Stranger Things 5” production has been delayed. Harbour noted that the cast received scripts for the season prior to the ongoing WGA strike.
“They’re terrific, as per usual. They continue to outdo themselves, these currently on-strike writers called the Duffer Brothers,” he said. “It’s a hell of an undertaking, too. I mean, the set pieces and the things in the scripts that we saw are bigger than anything we’ve done in the past.”
Harbour continued that the final season will “take a while to shoot, which will be tough since we can’t get started yet, but it is what it is. I’m excited to go back. I’m excited to wrap it up in a bold, amazing way.”
He concluded, “I’m excited to really swing with this character because you know they’re going to pay off these OG characters: Eleven, Hopper, Joyce, Will, Mike. They’re going to pay them off in big ways because they’ve lived with you for the past eight years.”
The “Thunderbolts” actor recently opened up about being warned against typecasting for his “Stranger Things” role.
“The first year of ‘Stranger Things,’ I remember having a discussion with a publicist and her saying, ‘Maybe you don’t want to be associated with the show so much,’ and I was like, ‘Why? I love this show. I love the character,’” Harbour told Insider. “And I do love the show. And I do love the character. But I don’t want to be just that character. I don’t want to be just that guy.”
The “Violent Night” star added, “I’m trying to navigate some of that, and it’s tricky because you don’t want to shit on the people that love you for this thing that you did that you also love. But at the same time, you kind of want to leave the nest. I got more in me. I got different stuff in me, and I want you guys to see that. I don’t want people yelling ‘Hopper’ on the street every five minutes the rest of my life.”
