David Harbour sounds ready to focus on the future after playing Stranger Things’ Jim Hopper since the Netflix series launched in July 2016.
Harbour, who stars in the streamer’s upcoming film We Have a Ghost, told Discussing Film in an interview published Monday that, at one point, he assumed he would never want Stranger Things to wind down. However, he has since come to terms with the show from co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer having had a successful run ahead of its fifth and final season.
“What’s funny is when I started the show, I never, ever wanted it to end,” Harbour said. “That’s why I love the show. I think it’s a great show, even if I wasn’t in it. Now we’re almost nine years from filming the first season, and I think it is time for it to end. But it is, of course, very bittersweet. You know, there’s a sadness there. But also, we’ve all grown up.”
He continued, “It is time for us to leave that nest and try other things and different projects. And to let the Duffer brothers try different things as well. I mean, those guys are so talented. I want to see what they come up with next. So it is bittersweet, but it’s definitely time.”
Harbour has seen his star rise significantly since landing the role of Hopper, as he recently appeared in the holiday-themed movie Violent Night and has the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts set for release in summer 2024.
The ensemble cast of Stranger Things also includes Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery.
During a show event in November, Matt Duffer said that very few people had yet to be informed at that time how Stranger Things will end. He also added that Netflix’s team got emotional when they heard the pitch for season five: “We did get our executives to cry, which I felt was a good sign that these executives were crying.”