EntertainmentStrategies for making Stranger Things’ protagonists look youngThe series’ director and executive producer knows that time is the cast’s enemy, but he revealed the secrets to “alleviating the problem”today at 1:02 p.m.

In fiction, the first four seasons of Stranger Things take place in a span of just over two years. In practice, six years have passed. And there is a problem with that: the young cast, as the main stars of the series were still children when it premiered on Netflix in 2016, and are now practically adults — Millie Bobby BrownEleven, even got married recently.

Aware of this issue, the production team of Stranger Things has an ace up its sleeve to “alleviate” the aging of the young cast. The secret was revealed by the show’s director and executive producer, Shawn Levyin an October 2023 interview with Variety.

At the time, the film and TV industry was experiencing an actors and writers’ strike. Because of this, Levy was asked if there was any chance of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things being rewritten due to the aging of its young stars. In his response, he revealed the “trick”: hair, makeup and costume work.

We’ve watched the cast of our show grow up through the eyes of the audience, and between the ages of 12 and 22, any human being changes profoundly. That passage of time is definitely not something that helps. That said, our hair, makeup and wardrobe team is exceptional with their costumes, wigs and makeup. The ’80s also help us transform these young adults into the iconic Hawkins characters. So we’re going to use every tool available to us.”

What it’s like to grow up in the public eye, according to actors

Having become stars early, the actors of Stranger Things are aware that they are growing in the public eye. In an interview with People in 2019, Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) and Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield) reflected on the matter and stated that they still do their best to lead a normal life like any other teenager or young adult.

Finn Wolfhard: We still go home and grow up with our family and friends and stuff. We try to do our best to be normal when we’re not on set.

Noah Schnapp: We still go to school and stuff like that. It’s important to have that balance between the life of a regular kid and, obviously, doing this, since we love them.

Caleb McLaughlin: In this business, we have to mature faster than the average teenager.

Sadie Sink: We know some people want that kind of attention. It can go to their heads quickly, but it really hasn’t gone to ours.”

There is still no release date set for the fifth season of Stranger Things. It is only known that the closing arc of the series will take place in 2025.

Contributed by: Augusto Ikeda.