Stranger Things season 5 is ready to start filming "as soon as possible", says producer Shawn Levy

Stranger Things season 5 is ready to start filming – as soon as the actors' strike is over.

"I can say that we are hoping to start filming as soon as possible. We really need the actors' strike resolved first. The Duffers have been hard at work since the writer strike ended," Shawn Levy, who's a producer on the show, told The Wrap. "We’re busy on a bunch of fronts because we also have our Stranger Things play opening in London imminently. It’s fabulous. It’s fucking awesome."

He continued: "We are raring to go – our cast, our crew. Everyone not only needs to get back to work because we have many hundreds of crew members who have not been able to make a living since the strikes began, but we will be shooting very shortly after the actors' strike ends."

SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood actors' union, has been on strike since July. SAG-AFTRA's dispute with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) continues after Hollywood execs walked away from negotiations regarding streaming revenue and the use of AI. 

The WGA, which represents screenwriters, was also on strike for nearly five months this year, but their industrial action was resolved at the end of September, and the Stranger Things writers' room confirmed it was back up and running shortly afterward. 

"There’s no way to be contiguous with season 4, and not, frankly, expand scale and depth," Levy previously told Total Film about the upcoming final season. "It’s major, major, cinematic storytelling that happens to be called a TV series. Stranger Things 5 is as big as any of the biggest movies that we see."

While we wait for Stranger Things season 5 to arrive on the streamer, check out our guide to the other best Netflix shows to add to your watch list.