David Harbour discusses the “fan service” from the Stranger Things finale

Stranger Things has proven the biggest show of the summer (so far), with its season 4 finale landing with a huge splash this past Friday. A lot went down, from learning the truth behind Vecna’s backstory to the adults returning from Russia to Hawkins being ripped asunder by an inter-dimensional crevice. It was big.

“Yeah, I thought it was great,” star David Harbour (Jim Hopper) told GQ. “I loved it. It’s very moving.” Favorite moments his included Eddie’s “stunning” death and Eleven’s climactic battle with Vecna. And then there was he and Joyce (Winona Ryder) finally sharing a kiss, which has been a long time coming. “It’s always something that Winona and I have talked about — on set riffing about what their relationship was in high school, and y’know, who they are to each other,” Harbour said. “There was always a tension between should this be consummated, or should they just be friends? And I do think it’s a bit of fan service. I think there was a real appetite for mommy and daddy to get back together again. And then once we were on that train, it seemed like an inevitability.”

Speaking of fan service, there’s also the bit where Hopper killed a Demogorgon with a sword, which seemed straight out of a very different kind of action series. “I don’t know if you saw this, but that sword I pick up — it’s the actual prop sword they used in Conan the Barbarian,” he says, excitedly. “It’s the sword that Schwarzenegger swings in the movie.”

David Harbour thinks Stranger Things season 5 will come out “mid-2024”

As for what happens next, Hawkins finds itself in a bit of a pickle. Harbour was a fan of the “Empire Strikes Back cliffhanger” that saw the town invaded by the Upside Down. “There’s like, huge rift earthquakes going through all of Indiana, one would assume,” he said. “So I don’t know what the f**k is gonna happen in season five now.”

"I think we’ll [shoot] next year. They’re finishing writing it this year, and they need to prep and stuff, so hopefully it’ll be this year. But I think that’s the plan. So it’d probably come out mid-2024, based on our track record."

Season 5 will be the final season of the series, but there’s already talk of spinoffs in the air. “I think as soon as the show ends, or maybe six months before it ends, you’ll be hearing about whatever spin-offs they have planned,” Harbour said.

Might there even be a spinoff about Hopper? If there is, Harbour would be okay if another actor played the character. “At this point, I think Hopper is a character that can exist independent of me,” he said. “If they wanna go back in time, forward in time… I’d love to see another actor play Hopper, and see what they can bring to it.” His pick: Euphoria star Jacob Elordi. “He could pull off being as handsome as I was at 20.”

You be the judge.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels