For the fifth and final season of the extremely beloved Netflix series Stranger Things, a new director has been tapped to fill the large shoes. According to TVLine, Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey) will be taking over the directorial role for the final season of the critically acclaimed series. This was announced this past Wednesday.

Trachtenberg has an impressive directorial resume with tons of sci-fi under his belt. Trachtenberg has worked on film classics such as 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey. In regards to television, Trachtenberg has more widespread experience. He’s taken part in the Prime Video series The Boys and also directed an episode of Black Mirror from season three titled “Playtest.”

Unfortunately, due to the current Writers Guild of America strike, production on season five has been put on an indefinite pause. This delay has broken the hearts of many hardcore Stranger Things fans and all audiences can hope is that this delay does not last much longer. Season four finished airing in July of 2022 and has left fans wondering what’s next for the kids in Hawkins, Indiana.

Matt and Ross Duffer, or better known as the Duffer Brothers (Saturday Night at Norm’s, The Milkman), stated in regards to the pause of production that “writing does not stop when filming begins. While we’re excited to start production with our amazing cast and crew, it is not possible during this strike. We hope a fair deal is reached soon so we can all get back to work. Until then – over and out.”

In the midst of all the upsetting delays, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. In November, the Duffer Brothers released a mini teaser in regards to season five. The premiere episode title was revealed, its title being the eerie “Chapter One: The Crawl.”

Linda Hamilton (The Terminator, Children of the Corn) was also announced to be joining the cast for their final run of fun, but the role she will be portraying has not yet been revealed.

On the bright side, a Stranger Things animated spinoff has received the green light from Netflix and, hopefully, it won’t be too long before more news is revealed on this.