‘Stranger Things’: Shawn Levy Says He’ll Use All The Tools Available To Us” When It Comes To De-Aging The Cast For Upcoming Final Season

At this point, given the ongoing SAG-AFTRA guild strike, who knows when Shawn Levy will shoot “Stranger Things” Season 5? But the longer the wait to shoot the Netflix show’s final season, the older its troupe of once-child actors will look. Fear not, says Levi: EW reports (via Variety) that the director and series executive producer promises he’ll use “all the tools available to us” to keep the “Stranger Things” teen looking like, well, teens, even if they’re in their early twenties.

READ MORE: David Harbour Can’t Wait To Play Hopper One Last Time In ‘Stranger Things,’ But He’s Ready For Other Roles: “I Don’t Want To Be Just That Guy”

“We’ve already watched the cast of our show grow up in the public eye, and between 12 and 22, every human being changes profoundly,” Levy said on the “Stranger Things” cast growing older. But while “this passage of time is definitely not helping,” he did say that “our hair and makeup and wardrobe department are pretty exceptional, using costumes and wigs and makeup.” But are wigs, makeup, and clothes enough to disguise how much older everyone is now? Levy continued: “The ’80s are also our friends in returning these young adult actors to their iconic Hawkins characters. So we’re going to use all the tools available to us. And I know our cast is as eager to get back to work as the rest of us.”

Anyone who’s watched “Stranger Things” knows how important its ensemble cast of childhood friends is to the show. But Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin aren’t so young anymore. And it’ll be less easy to disguise their aging than, say, David Harbour and Winona Ryder, or even slightly older cast members Joe Keery, Charlie Heaton, and Natalia Dyer. Would Levy and The Duffer Brothers consider de-aging VFX? No word on that, but that feels excessive for a show’s sendoff. Still, it’s Netflix, so who knows? Maybe the fifth and final season of one of their biggest hits means the streamer will pull out all the stops to make it as seamless as possible.

Even so, it sounds like the “Stranger Things” cast is ready to move on from the series. This past summer, Millie Bobby Brown compared wrapping up the show to graduating high school, telling Women’s Wear Daily, “I think I’m ready.” “You’re ready to go and blossom and flourish and you’re grateful for the time you’ve had,” the actress continued, “but it’s time to create your own message and live your own life.” Wolfhard had similar comments for EW: “I definitely am excited to finish Stranger Things and see what’s out there after. I’ve tried not to think about it or process how sad it’s gonna be, obviously, but it’s gonna be a graduation of sorts for all of us, for the cast and a lot of the crew, too.”

But graduation day from Hawkins, Indiana remains delayed indefinitely as long as the SAG guild strike continues. And the longer it drags on, the older the “Stranger Things” cast will look once they finally start shooting. Will it be a major issue for Levy and the show’s production? Diehard fans will undoubtedly look past it, but it could very well end up looking like young adults playing dress up, and that’s something Netflix doesn’t want.