TV Shawn Levy says 'all the tools' will be used to combat aging of Stranger Things cast in final season "The '80s are also our friends in returning these young adult actors to their iconic Hawkins characters," he said. By Lauren Huff Lauren Huff Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on October 23, 2023 08:15PM EDT Here's a force of nature even Vecna himself can't stop: The Stranger Things cast is aging much faster than their onscreen counterparts. Now, this issue is not new to the hit Netflix sci-fi horror show, nor is it new to any series or film that centers on a group of children. But, with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike pausing production and causing delays, it's perhaps even more of a problem than usual, however, series executive producer and director Shawn Levy is apparently not too worried about it. In an interview with Variety, Levy said, "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." He admitted that "this passage of time is definitely not helping," but "that being said, our hair and makeup and wardrobe department are pretty exceptional, using costumes and wigs and makeup." 'Stranger Things'. Netflix He 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." That cast includes not-so-young-anymore stars Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin, all of whom grew up on screen as the show progressed. When the strike resolves, they will all go back to work on the fifth and final season. Wolfhard previously told EW he has mixed emotions about the ending of the series. On one hand, he says, "I definitely am excited to finish Stranger Things and see what's out there after." On the other, "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," Wolfhard said. Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Winona Ryder, David Harbour and more round out the cast of Stranger Things, which will end with an eight-episode final season at an undisclosed time. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Finn Wolfhard sees Stranger Things final season as a 'graduation' for the cast Stranger Things halts production on final season due to WGA strike Stranger Things universe expands with Netflix animated series: 'The adventure continues'