Stranger Things reveals “first look” at Steve in Season 5

After the end of the WGA strike, the Stranger Things team have unveiled the “first look” at Steve in Season 5 – but there’s a catch.

2022 was full of massive pop culture moments: Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s trial, the reunion of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez – but they’re all chasing the summer-defining highs of Stranger Things Season 4.

The penultimate season of Netflix’s flagship series was an enormous event – but the fifth season may be one of the most anticipated TV releases in history, bringing a seminal show to a close.

Development had been halted due to the WGA strike, but with a deal struck, the writers at hard at work. We’ve even got a sneak peek at Season 5, but if you’re expecting a proper look at Steve, you’re going to be disappointed.

Stranger Things writers call for “fair deal” in Season 5 “first look”

In a new tweet, the Stranger Things writing team shared a pre-vis GIF of Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington – in simpler terms, it’s a CGI image of the character, rather than Keery himself. “It’s rough animation of a scene. We only do it for scenes involving lots of VFX or complex action,” they explained.

FYI this is pre-vis for a scene in ep 1. So technically your first look at season 5. We told Joe he has to perform it EXACTLY like this.

— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) September 28, 2023

“Hope the studios make a fair deal with SAG soon or else Season 5 is looking like this,” the account wrote, before adding: “FYI this is pre-vis for a scene in ep 1. So technically your first look at season 5. We told Joe he has to perform it EXACTLY like this.”

The SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing, but representatives for the guild and AMPTB are set to resume negotiations for a new contract this coming Monday, October 2. While some projects have been granted an interim agreement, such as Michael Mann’s Ferrari, Netflix shows won’t be privy to such deals given how pivotal streamers are to the strike in the first place.

Obviously, Stranger Things is considered the platform’s biggest priority once the actors’ strike comes to an end, for one big reason above all else: it “needs to happen before its aging stars can no longer pass for high schoolers,” Variety reported.

You can find out more about Stranger Things Season 5 here, and check out the rest of our coverage here.