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Stranger Things wrapped up its run on December 31, 2025. Netflix dropped the finale, The Rightside Up, right at 8 PM on New Year’s Eve. It ran over two hours, putting out all the stops for Hawkins’ last big fight against Vecna and the Upside Down.
After the showdown, the story jumped ahead a year and a half, showing where everyone landed. Fans finally saw Jim Hopper get down on one knee and propose to Joyce Byers. The two planned to pack up and head to Montauk, New York, where Hopper landed a job as chief of police.
David Harbour, who has played Hopper for almost ten years, became the heart of the show. He started as a rough, heavy-drinking small-town cop, but over five seasons, he turned into Eleven’s protective dad and Joyce’s partner.
Harbour’s work didn’t go unnoticed. He picked up two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nod along the way, and for good reason. Now that Stranger Things has wrapped, Harbour is jumping into a string of big projects. Let’s explore.
What’s next for David Harbour after Stranger Things
Violent Night 2
David Harbour has his next large-scale project in Violent Night 2, an action-comedy genre, which will be released on December 4, 2026. The follow-up to the 2022 surprise hit has Harbour rejoining the role of battle-scarred Santa Claus with a Viking past. The movie has minted $76 million in the international market with a small budget of $20 million.
Violent Night 2 is directed again by director Tommy Wirkola, and the original scriptwriters Pat Casey and Josh Miller come to write the script. The creative team has indicated that they will develop the backstory of Santa and will explore more about his Viking background as Nicomund the Red. The writers claim that the sequel will be more influenced by the West and be inspired by the classic Miracle on 34th Street, and will not spend much time in an enclosed location, but rather on building the mythology of this version of St. Nicholas.
Avengers: Doomsday
Only two weeks later, Violent Night 2 is released, and David Harbour will be featured in one of the most anticipated movies of 2026: Avengers Doomsday. It will be released on December 18, 2026. Harbour will revive his character of Alexei Shostakov, or Red Guardian, the Russian hyper-soldier that he first played in Black Widow (2021) and then in Thunderbolts (2025).
Red Guardian is also confirmed to join the New Avengers line in Doomsday, which will be one of the biggest ensemble casts in the history of the MCU. The project is being re-helmed by the same directors, Joe and Anthony Russo. According to recent interviews, David Harbour said that the movie was extraordinary, with its magnitude and quality that matched some of the biggest MCU productions, such as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
Evil Genius
Although David Harbour has dominated the action genre, the actor is also returning to serious, character-driven drama with Evil Genius. It is a true-crime thriller directed by the Friends star Courteney Cox. This project, which was announced in November 2025, is based on the popular 2018 Netflix documentary series of the same title by Barbara Schroeder and Trey Borzillieri.
The movie touches on the notorious case of the so-called pizza bomber, Brian Douglas Wells. In the year 2003, the pizza delivery person attempted to rob a bank and was orchestrated by Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong. David Harbour reportedly portrays William “Bill” Rothstein, who is one of the co-conspirators in the heist. In November 2025, the actor was photographed on set with a dramatic change to a shaggy gray wig, bushy gray beard, and wearing denim overalls and flannel, which is a sharp contrast to his usual look.
Behemoth
In October 2025, it was reported that David Harbour was also negotiating to appear with Pedro Pascal in Behemoth, a Searchlight Pictures movie written and directed by Tony Gilroy. The renowned director of the Bourne movies and Andor is keeping the details of the plot under wraps, although in interviews Gilroy has stated that the movie centers around a cellist.
It will be produced by Gilroy, and the principal photography began on October 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. The combination of Harbour and Pascal, one of Hollywood's most marketable stars, will be an interesting collaboration. Gilroy has a history of creating intelligent, character-driven thrillers, which means Behemoth will be another addition to the ever-growing filmography of David Harbour.
DTF St. Louis
One of the other prestige projects that Harbour has recently completed is the HBO limited series DTF St. Louis. Although information regarding the series is limited, HBO’s involvement is an indication that it will be quality programming, and the project will enable David Harbour to get back into the small-screen format that has seen him become a star with Stranger Things.
Goat
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David Harbour will also team with his Stranger Things co-star Caleb McLaughlin in Goat. It is an animated film by Sony Pictures Animation, set to be released on February 13, 2026. In this animated sports comedy, McLaughlin plays the main character Will Harris, a small goat with big dreams of becoming a professional roarball player. David Harbour plays the role of Archie Everhardt, a rhinoceros and the enforcer of the team, and a single father of two daughters.
The film takes place in the animal world, where Will is given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to join professionals and play the roarball, a full-contact, co-ed, high-powered game with the animals.
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