Will Stranger Things season 4 release date be delayed until 2022?

Is Stranger Things season 4 coming to Netflix in 2021?

Fans are anxiously awaiting the release of Stranger Things season 4 on Netflix. Unfortunately, we’re not going to see the new season on Netflix this year.

That was never in the plans anyway, though. David Harbour confirmed the season was headed to Netflix in early 2021, but that isn’t going to happen now. The release date has obviously been delayed.

Stranger Things season 4 stopped filming in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, there was going to be a two-week production stoppage, but that shutdown has turned into, basically, a six-months-and-counting work stoppage.

Stranger Things fans are always prepared to wait a long time between seasons, but will they have to wait even longer for season 4?

Well, right now, there seems to be a chance that we will see Stranger Things season 4 in 2021. Once season 4 resumes filming, we should have to wait about a year before the new season is released.

There are still about five or six months left of production, unless that timeline changes. Then, we have to wait about six months after that for post-production and promotion. That equals about one year.

There have been reports that production could resume in September 2020. If that happens, we’d have to wait about a year until the fall of 2021 until the season could be released.

The keyword there is “could.” We still don’t know anything about the updated production timeline. And, if there are any delays, a 2021 release date is in jeopardy.

Because of that, a 2021 release seems rather unlikely at this point. There’s about a four-month release window that they’ll have to hit, and as the pandemic rages on, I’m not sure how likely it is that the show will be able to hit that release window.

Will Stranger Things season 4 release date be delayed until 2022?

If Stranger Things season 4 is not able to start filming this fall, there’s probably a good chance that season 4 will not be released on Netflix until 2022.

Unless they can expedite the production, post-production and promotions process, we have to wait at least six months between the end of filming and the release date on Netflix. I don’t see many ways they’d be able to make that process happen faster because there’s so much work that goes into getting the shows subtitled and dubbed in every language on Netflix, all the CGI work that the show uses, and so much more.

And, that doesn’t even include the marketing and promotional plan. Stranger Things is the most marketable Netflix show with tons of corporate sponsors and partners. Those partnerships all tied into the season in some way for Stranger Things 3, so that’s another thing that could potentially add to the delay. Netflix obviously wants to take advantage of those opportunities.

And, none of that really even matters until they can start filming. As mentioned, it looks like there is at least five or six months of production left. They can probably shave some time off of that since all the scripts are finished, but we don’t know how much time.

Let’s look at the best-case scenario. Stranger Things resumes filming season 4 in September, and they film the season over five months. Then, we have to wait six months until the season is released. That puts the Stranger Things season 4 release date in the fall of 2021.

Unless they really put the pedal to the metal, that’s the earliest we’ll see Stranger Things season 4.

Now, imagine they can’t start production in September or they have to wait more than six months from the end of filming until the release date. There was an eight-month gap from the end of filming until the release of Stranger Things season 3. If those things happen, we’re looking at a late 2021 or 2022 release date at the earliest.

We also have to wonder about the setting of Stranger Things season 4. So far, we’ve seen two seasons set around holidays. Season 2 was set at Halloween and into the winter, while season 3 took place around the Fourth of July.

David Harbour confirmed season 4 was going to be released in early 2021. Could that mean a Valentine’s Day season is on the way? Netflix also shared the video of Hopper in the Russian prison camp on Valentine’s Day 2019. I think that’s too big of a coincidence.

If season 4 is really a Valentine’s Day season, maybe it would be best to hold it until Valentine’s Day 2022 anyway? Rather than changing the season drastically to accommodate a different time of year, I could see Netflix just taking the “L” for 2021 and just moving the season back to Valentine’s Day 2022. These are truly unprecedented times, and I don’t think we can really take anything off the table.

So, unfortunately, Stranger Things season 4 premiering in 2022 is looking more and more likely as we get into the fall.

We should have a much clearer picture of the timeline if and when Stranger Things season 4 resumes production. If there are further delays, obviously, we’d expect the release date to be pushed back.