Stranger Things 4 unlikely to be released on Netflix in 2020

Netflix shut down production on Stranger Things 4, and now, a 2020 release date for Stranger Things 4 seems unlikely.

It was always going to be a longshot that Stranger Things 4 would be ready in time to be released in 2020. With the novel coronavirus pandemic, a 2020 release date is looking increasingly unlikely.

By now, Stranger Things fans around the world know production has stopped on the fourth season of the Netflix original series. Netflix made the decision to halt all of its productions in the US and Canada, along with The Witcher, which is being filmed in the UK.

According to Variety, Shawn Levy, Stranger Things executive producer and director, said they were only one month into production on Stranger Things 4. That means there is a lot of filming that still needs to happen.

According to the initial report from TV Line, Stranger Things 4 was going to be in production through August 2020. That means there are roughly six months of production left, assuming the timeline stays the same.

Since Stranger Things 3 was released, fans have been speculating about a late 2020 release date for Stranger Things 4. Many fans want to catch back up with these characters around Christmas.

For the last two seasons, Stranger Things has been released around holidays, Halloween and the Fourth of July. It makes sense that the new season would be set around Christmas, especially considering what was discussed between Mike and Eleven at the end of the third season.

The new season arriving at the end of 2020 was always going to be a quick turnaround between seasons. With any delay of more than a few weeks, it would make it even more unlikely for season 4 to be ready by the end of the year.

There are so many moving parts with this season already. They filmed scenes from the Russian base in Lithuania earlier this year. Production started in Atlanta, but it was moving to Netflix’s production hub in New Mexico later this spring.

Considering all the editing and post-production work and promotion that goes into the season after filming wraps, it’s going to be really difficult to get the season done by Christmas.

Obviously, there are so many things we still don’t know. When will production be allowed to resume? Will the season and story need to be adjusted? There are so many questions we don’t know the answers to at this point, and that makes it really difficult.

Since we saw that teaser on Valentine’s Day revealing Hopper’s fate, I’ve been thinking Stranger Things 4 will be released on or around Valentine’s Day 2021. Assuming production resumes again in the near future, that’s about as early as the season could be released.

We’ll let you know more about production on season 4 and release date as we find out.