EDITORS NOTE: This article contains spoilers for both episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2.
It’s hard to believe that Stranger Things Season 4 is officially over. It was one extremely wild roller coaster ride, to say the least. Especially for David Harbour’s Jim Hopper who was trapped in Russia after seemingly “dying” at the end of Season 3. He finally escaped Russia with the help of Joyce and Murray in the finale and reunited with Eleven in Hawkins, but the question on any Stranger Things fan’s mind is what’s next for this doomed town? However, while everyone is focused on the future of the franchise, when being interviewed by GQ, Harbour talked about a younger version of Hopper and who he would want to see play him.
In the interview, Harbour said, "Hopper's a character that can exist independent of me. If they wanna go back in time, forward in time… I’d love to see another actor play Hopper. Jacob Elordi could pull off being as handsome as I was at 20." If there were to be a prequel story involving Hopper, Elordi would be a great choice. The actor is most known for his more villainous role as Nate on HBO’s Euphoria, but Elordi has the emotional range that would be needed for such a complex character. Also, from a general looks perspective, you could definitely buy Elordi as a young Jim Hopper.
When we meet up with Hopper in Season 1, the character is kind of this clichéd alcoholic cop. However, when we learned more about his traumatic past involving the death of his daughter, that is when Hopper's character really started to open up and the performance became a lot more nuanced. On top of that, the character was all the richer when Hopper became Eleven’s adopted father and that brilliant emotional core has been one of the strongest through-lines of the entire series. When the two reunited at the end of Season 4, it was one of the most heartfelt moments in recent TV history.
Another great thing about Hopper's character has been his blossoming romance with Joyce Byers who is played so wonderfully by Winona Ryder in the series. Harbour talked about their romance saying, “It’s always something that Winona and I have talked about — on set riffing about what their relationship was in high school, and y’know, who they are to each other.” He continued, “there was always a tension between should this be consummated, or should they just be friends? And I do think it’s a bit of fan service. I think there was a real appetite for mommy and daddy to get back together again. And then once we were on that train, it seemed like an inevitability.” Joyce and Hopper’s relationship has been such a fun plot line to watch over these last few seasons. There’s a lot from their past that The Duffer Brothers could mine from, and it would be interesting to see that explored more in a different time in their lives in a spinoff or flashbacks. The series has already used flashbacks significantly for Hopper and Eleven's histories, so they could easily continue that kind of intricate storytelling for Season 5.
There’s reportedly a spinoff in the works for the Stranger Things universe, but as of right now we have no idea what it could be about — it could very well focus on Hopper. The character has been a great example of second chances and Harbour's performance has been one of the most memorable in TV history. However, we need to get through Season 5, the final season, before we start worrying about a spinoff. After all, Hopper and Hawkins are currently in a dire situation with Vecna opening a super-gate between worlds. The Upside Down can finally be unleashed onto the real world.
Writing for Season 5 is set to begin in August, and you can also binge Stranger Things Season 4 in its entirety now.