David Harbour: ‘It is time’ for ‘Stranger Things’ to end
With “Stranger Things” almost in the hopper, star David Harbour is bidding adieu to Hawkins, Indiana, and looking beyond the Netflix series that brought him a new level of fame.
“What’s funny is when I started the show, I never ever wanted it to end. That’s why I love the show,” Harbour, 47, said in a new interview with Discussing Film.
“I think it’s a great show, even if I wasn’t in it. Now we’re almost nine years from filming the first season, and I think it is time for it to end. But it is, of course, very bittersweet. You know, there’s a sadness there,” the “Black Widow” star continued.
Filming is slated to begin in May for “Stranger Things” Season 5 — the final chapter of the sci-fi series, which premiered in July 2016.
Harbour plays police chief Jim Hopper alongside Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery and Dacre Montgomery.
“It is time for us to leave that nest and try other things and different projects. And to let [creators] the Duffer brothers, try different things as well,” Harbour added. “Those guys are so talented. I want to see what they come up with next. So it is bittersweet, but it’s definitely time.”
Matt and Ross Duffer appeared on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in July, claiming a potential spinoff would be “1,000% different” than the parent series.
And as for the fifth installment, the brothers explained the episodes will be fast-paced and the season will be shorter.
“The only reason we don’t expect it to be as long is because if you look at it, it’s almost a two-hour ramp-up before our kids really get drawn into the supernatural mystery,” Matt Duffer said.
“You get to know them, you get to see them in their lives, what they’re struggling with, adapting to high school, and so forth.”
Harbour noted the tight filming window for the season, owing to the aging of the young stars.
“We have to get going because the kids are growing up, we got to shoot this thing!” the Westchester County native said.
Harbour will also be seen in the Marvel film “Thunderbolts,” due to drop July 26, 2024, as well as the adventure comedy “We Have a Ghost,” out Friday.
He said he was initially worried about conflicting production schedules.
“ ‘Thunderbolts’ came around, and I was terrified. I was like, ‘Oh God, if these things don’t work out, and I can’t do one?’ Luckily, the producers on both [‘Thunderbolts’ and ‘Stranger Things’] really made it work,” Harbour said.
“They went to great lengths to make it work, but it means that I’m going to have to be running back and forth between sets in Atlanta, doing this crazy schedule.”
