David Harbour isn’t precious when it comes to the future of his fan-favorite “Stranger Things” character Jim Hopper. In a recent interview with GQ magazine, the actor said he is eager to see another performer take over the role should series creators Matt and Ross Duffer decide to create a spinoff series centered on the character. Harbour even has his pick for the actor who should play a young Hopper in a “Stranger Things” prequel series: “The Kissing Booth” and “Euphoria” star Jacob Elordi.
“He could pull off being as handsome as I was at 20,” Harbour quipped to GQ.
The actor added, “At this point, I think Hopper is 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, and see what they can bring to it…. I think as soon as the show ends, or maybe six months before it ends, you’ll be hearing about whatever spin-offs [the Duffer Brothers] have planned.”
The Duffer Brothers are developing at least one “Stranger Things” spinoff, although they haven’t even told Netflix yet what the idea is behind it. Will the spinoff involve Hopper? It doesn’t sound like it, as the Duffer Bros. are already on record saying the spinoff will be “1000% different” from the original series and not center on any existing main characters.
“It’s not following… I’ve read these rumors that there’s gonna be an Eleven spinoff, that there’s gonna be a Steve and Dustin spinoff or that it’s another number,” the Duffer Brothers recently said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “That’s not interesting to me because we’ve done all that. We’ve spent I don’t know how many hours exploring all of that. So it’s very different.”
Harbour told Variety earlier this year that he’s one of the only cast members who knows how the Duffer Brothers plan to end “Stranger Things” in the upcoming fifth and final season.
“I know what happens and it’s quite moving, and quite beautiful,” Harbour said. “I think that I needed to know as we were shooting early on, because I needed to know where [Hopper] ends up and for what reason he ends up there. I think there is going to be somewhat of a morality — or at least responsible storytelling — to what the Duffers are doing.”
From Variety US