The latest trailer for the final season of Stranger Things offers minimal glimpses of Jim Hopper, portrayed by David Harbour. Fans quickly noted the 50-year-old actor’s limited screen time in the preview, which debuted on October 30.
One X user commented on the "deafening silence" from Harbour’s character in the final trailer, calling it "HILARIOUS." Another fan shared a breakdown of character appearances, placing Hopper with just over six seconds in the two-minute, 40-second clip. Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington also had a similar brief appearance.
Hopper is seen only twice in the new trailer. One scene shows him exploring the Upside Down alongside Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. In another, they appear to be inside a mysterious laboratory. The trailer also confirms the return of the fourth season’s villain, Vecna, portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower.
This striking absence of Harbour follows the October 24 release of West End Girl, a new album by his ex-wife, Lily Allen. The album is a scathing breakup record, reportedly addressing their 2024 divorce.
Allen, 40, strongly implies that Harbour was unfaithful before their separation. The former couple had married in 2020.
The album’s opening track reportedly recounts Allen moving to New York with Harbour in 2021. She sings that his attitude changed after she secured a lead role in a West End play, leading her to move to London alone for rehearsals. Allen starred in 2:22 A Ghost Story in 2021 and The Pillowman in 2023.
Subsequent songs, "Ruminating" and "Sleepwalking," describe Allen spending nights awake, grappling with the thought of her partner having sexual relations with other women while she was away. "Sleepwalking" includes the lyric: "There’s been no romance since we married / ‘Why don’t we f***, babe?’ Yeah, that’s what you said / But you made me think it was all me / And it had nothing to do with those girls in your bed."
In an interview published on October 28, Allen stated that she did not intend for West End Girl to cause her ex any harm. She described the album as "not a cruel album," explaining that it captured feelings she was processing at the time.
Allen noted that the album was written and recorded in December 2024, the same month she and Harbour separated after four years of marriage. She added that she now feels "very different about the whole situation."
Despite some listeners calling West End Girl a "revenge album," Allen countered by saying, "I don’t need revenge." She explained her goal was for the project to "feel brutal and tragic, but also empowering," emphasizing the importance of not sounding like a victim.
Harbour has not publicly responded to Allen’s statements in West End Girl. Allen has commented that she tries not to dwell on how her ex might react to the album.