Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has admitted we could still be in for quite a wait before we get to see the show’s long-awaited finale.
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things began production at the beginning of this year, following several pushbacks due to the Hollywood strikes of 2023.
During an appearance on Podcrushed, Maya explained that the last season of the hit Netflix sci-fi drama is expected to take around a year to shoot, as the team is “making, basically, eight movies” as each episode is “very long”.
“Our showrunners, Matt and Ross, take a lot of responsibility,” the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star explained. “They have an amazing team of writers, but they’re very involved.
“They write a lot and they are very intense and serious about the quality of the continued writing, and it takes a long time to write each season, and it takes a long time to shoot them.”
Referring to the continued setbacks Stranger Things has faced, she joked: “This show has been a little bit cursed.”
The most recent season of Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2022, and ended on a cliffhanger which some fans think may have been spoiled when a photo of the cast preparing for the new batch of episodes was released by the streaming service in January.
Season four was notable in that it led to a renaissance for Kate Bush’s hit Running Up That Hill, which ended with the song reaching number one in the UK almost 40 years after its initial release.
Maya previously shared her hopes for season five with Yahoo!, admitting she hopes it won’t focus too much on her character’s burgeoning relationship with her girlfriend.
“That friendship with Steve is so special. And friendships have been carrying me through my life,” she explained. “I think they’re really important, and they deserve their airtime.”
Watch Maya Hawke’s full Podcrushed interview below: