
I visited the Atlanta set of the show in July 2024, right in the middle of filming – around day 135. There were between 400 and 500 people working on set that day. Outside the library, nearly 100 extras in camouflage were relaxing and enjoying shawarma from the craft services table, near props made to look like bloodied bodies. Stunt performers were preparing to be launched into the air by crew members wearing gray suits and orange markers on their heads – these would later become the terrifying monsters known as Demogorgons thanks to computer-generated imagery. And this wasn’t even the most elaborate scene they were filming all year! According to executive producer and director Shawn Levy, the sets were just as massive and detailed as those he’s worked with on Marvel films. He explained that even though it’s a television series, the storytelling is truly epic in scope. Levy had just finished directing his latest episodes of *Stranger Things* after wrapping up *Deadpool & Wolverine* and before starting work on a *Star Wars* movie.