Posted in: Netflix, Preview, Stranger Things, TV | Tagged: netflix, shawn levy, stranger things, stranger things 5

Stranger Things 5: Shawn Levy Will Direct: "I Bleed for That Show"

Stranger Things Director & EP Shawn Levy made it crystal clear that he plans on directing at least one episode of the final season.

Though no one can say that the production team hasn't done as much as it possibly can to be ready once filming gets underway, the sad truth is that filming on Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer's Stranger Things 5 won't get underway until the AMPTP does right by SAG-AFTRA and the WGA. But when that time does come, director & executive producer Shawn Levy wants to make it clear that he will be back to direct at least one episode – and that he's willing to "go through hoops" to make it happen. Speaking with Collider's Steven Weintraub at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in support of All the Light We Cannot See, Levy was asked if he would have the time to direct during the final season, considering how busy his schedule has become – including work on a little "indie film" starring Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman otherwise known as Deadpool 3. As you'll see, Levy doesn't waste a second confirming that he will helm at least one episode – adding, "I bleed for that show." From there, Levy shares how much the show & the Duffers have meant to him, so there would be no way that he would miss out (though which episode is still up in the air."

Here's a video of that interview (with Levy's comments on Stranger Things 5 kicking in at around the 1:30 mark), followed by a look back at what Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer had to share about the final season:

Matt & Ross Duffer Discuss Stranger Things 5

Ross on Having "Quite a Bit More" of the "Overall Plan" & "Backstory" to Reveal: "I remember season one, we were just amazed that Netflix was letting us do this at all, but season two was when we really, with the writers, we developed an overall plan and a backstory for all of this and make sure that, with the Upside Down, everything about what it was." Though the fourth season offered quite a few answers, Ross says "we do have quite a bit more to get in. But just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now – most who are still living – and it's important to wrap up those arcs. A lot of these characters have been growing since season one, so it's a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also tying up loose ends and doing our final reveals."

Matt on Making Netflix Execs Cry During 2-Hour Final Season Pitch Meeting: "We did get our executives to cry, which I felt was a good sign that these executives were crying. The only other times I've seen them cry were like budget meetings [crowd laughs]."

Season 5 Does Right by "The Lifeblood of 'Stranger Things'" – Levy: "As a witness and having been in that two-hour pitch room and having read this first script – I'm paralyzed with fear that I'll spoil anything, but I will say the thing about these Duffer Brothers is that even though the show has gotten so famous and the characters have gotten so iconic, and there's so much about the '80s and the supernatural and the genre, it's about these people, it's about these characters. Season five is already so clearly taking care of these stories of the characters because that's always been the lifeblood of 'Stranger Things.'"

Season 5 Will Be "A Culmination" of Previous Seasons' Pop Culture Themes/References – Ross: The final season will be "a culmination of all of the seasons, so it's sort of got a little bit from each, whereas before each season was so distinctly – three, this is our big summer blockbuster season with our big monster; four was the psychological horror. I think that what we're trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit in the tone of [season] one, but scale-wise it's more in line with what [season] four is. Hopefully, it's got a little bit of everything."

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