David Harbour is already "exhausted" by his hectic 2023 filming schedule, which will include simultaneously filming both his next Marvel film, "Thunderbolts," and the fifth and final season of Netflix hit "Stranger Things."
Harbour spoke with Discussing Film about his latest film, Netflix's "We Have a Ghost," looking ahead to his "crazy" rest of the year as well.
"It's nothing like I've ever done before," Harbour told the publication. "You know 'Stranger Things' had to go. We have to get going because the kids are growing up, we got to shoot this thing! Then 'Thunderbolts' came around, and I was terrified. I was like, 'Oh god, if these things don't work out, and I can't do one?'"
Harbour previously revealed in an interview with Collider in November 2022 that he would have to film the two upcoming projects simultaneously in Atlanta, Georgia. As he told Collider at the time, he was already anticipating "facial hair conundrums" between the two projects given that his characters — Jim Hopper in "Stranger Things" and Red Guardian in "Thunderbolts" — have different appearances when it comes to beards and weight.
Complicating the schedule is the fact that, as Harbour said, the "Stranger Things" young cast isn't getting any younger. By season four, which was released on Netflix in mid-2022, actors like Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin were anywhere from three to six years older than their characters on the show.
Series co-showrunner Ross Duffer told TV Line in June 2022 that ideally, they would have filmed seasons four and five back-to-back to more closely match the actors' ages. Given that it wasn't a possibility, he said he was "sure" there would be a time jump in season five.
Harbour told Discussing Film that producers on both projects "went to great lengths to make it work" for him — even if it means hopping between sets.
"I'm young and virile, so I figured I'd be able to do it," he said. "It's going to be a hell of a summer."
