Stranger Things star David Harbour knows how Hopper's story ends – and he says it's "quite beautiful"

David Harbour in Stranger Things
(Image credit: Netflix)

Ever since Netflix announced that Stranger Things season 5 would be the hit Netflix show’s last, fans have been searching for clues as to how the story will end. According to David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, so have its stars – and lucky for him, he managed to squeeze a few details out of the Duffer brothers.

Ahead of the first seven episodes of Stranger Things season 4 being released on May 27, the actor told Variety that he knows what’s in store for the former Hawkins police chief beyond the next chapter. Making sure not to spoil anything, he teased an emotional conclusion to Hopper’s journey, and explained that not all of the cast members know where their characters are going to wind up.

"I think it varies from person to person, from character to character, and I'm such a harassment specialist that I think I've gotten it out of them," Harbour confessed. "It's been back and forth about like, 'What happens to Hopper? Is he a character that's able to survive Hawkins or does he die?' … I know what happens and it's quite moving, and quite beautiful."

Set six months after the events of season 3, which culminated in Hopper seemingly sacrificing himself to stop the Russians, and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) leaving Hawkins with Will (Noah Schnapp) and his family, Stranger Things 4 sees the gang brought back together by "a new and horrifying supernatural threat." Before long, the group stumble across "a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down." Read our own interview with Harbour here.

Those also reprising their roles alongside Harbour, Brown, and Schnapp include Finn Wolfhard (as Mike Wheeler), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), and Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers).

Stranger Things season 4 is set to feature a ton of new faces, too, as Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, Joseph Quinn, Amybeth McNulty, Myles Truitt, Sherman Augustus, Mason Dye, Nikola Đuričko, Regina Ting Chen, Grace Van Dien, and Robert Englund all join the cast.

While we wait for the new episodes to land this weekend, why not check out our list of the best Netflix shows and bulk out your to-watch list.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.