Stranger Things Season 4 – Everything We Know So Far
Believe it or not, it's only been two-and-a-half years since "Strange Things" season 3 gave Netflix a summer blockbuster event to call its own back in July 2019. I say "only" because it feels like it's been a lifetime since Eleven, Mike, Joyce, Sheriff Jim Hopper, and the rest of the gang from Hawkins (along with new recruits Erica and Robin) took on Soviet agents and the Mind Flayer in the Battle of Starcourt Mall. For that matter, it's "only" been two years since Netflix released the start of production video for "Stranger Things" season 4, confirming that Hopper had avoided perishing in the showdown at Starcourt and was, as most everyone suspected, the American prisoner mentioned by the Russian prison guards in the season 3 finale's post-credits scene.
Between the filming delays caused by the pandemic and season 4 being what executive producer Shawn Levy has described as "the most ambitious, cinematic, sprawling and epic season that we've ever done," it's no wonder "Stranger Things" is taking as long as it is to make its highly-anticipated return. Fortunately, the wait is nearly over, which means it's a good time to take stock of where we are and what we know going into our next trip to the Upside-Down.
When and Where to Watch Stranger Things Season 4
Just like it did with the show's first three seasons, Netflix will drop the entirety of "Stranger Things" season 4 on the same day. Season 4 will be divided up into nine episodes titled as follows:
- Episode 1: The Hellfire Club
- Episode 2: Vecna's Curse
- Episode 3: The Monster and the Superhero
- Episode 4: Dear Billy
- Episode 5: The Nina Project
- Episode 6: The Dive
- Episode 7: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab
- Episode 8: Papa
- Episode 9: The Piggyback
Netflix has yet to lock down a premiere date for "Stranger Things" season 4, stating it will debut in "Summer 2022." It's possible the streamer is planning to launch this new season over the July 4th holiday frame, which means it would arrive exactly three years after season 3 went live. Netflix initially claimed "Stranger Things 3" (to use its official name) was viewed by 40.7 million household accounts in its first four days alone. However, Nielsen (via Digital TV Europe) later reported that 19.7 million viewers had watched the season 3 premiere in its first two weeks of release. Either way, a lot of people are expected to tune in for season 4, least of all after having three years to catch up on what came before.
What We Think Stranger Things Season 4 Will Be About
Judging by its teaser trailer, "Stranger Things" season 4 will pick up in the spring of 1986, as Eleven struggles to settle into her and the Byers family's new life in California after leaving her other pals — including her boyfriend Mike — in Hawkins, Indiana at the end of season 3. No surprise, though, it looks like poor Eleven and Mike will be forced to abandon their plans for a spring break reunion when trouble comes-a-knocking at their door once again (quite literally, in Eleven's case).
Elsewhere, Hopper will be trying to escape "the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, Russia, where he will face dangers both human... and other," as "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer put it back when season 4 began shooting. Season 4's marketing and episode titles have also led to speculation that Kali, aka Eight from the polarizing season 2 episode "The Lost Sister," will be showing up at some point for as-yet-unknown reasons. And does the title of Episode 8, "Papa," hint at the return of Eleven's vile "Papa," Martin Brenner, after he was seemingly killed by a Demogorgon off-screen back in season 1? Stranger things (I'm so sorry) have happened!
What We Know About the Stranger Things Season 4 Cast and Crew
Season 4 will bring a whole lot of actors into the "Stranger Things" universe for the first time. Their ranks include Amybeth McNulty ("Anne with an E"), Myles Truitt ("Queen Sugar"), Regina Ting Chen ("The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"), and Grace Van Dien ("The Rookie"), as well as Jamie Campbell Bower ("The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"), Eduardo Franco ("Booksmart"), Joseph Quinn ("Catherine the Great"), Tom Wlaschiha ("Game of Thrones"), Sherman Augustus ("Westworld"), Mason Dye ("Bosch"), Nikola Djuricko ("In The Land of Blood and Honey"), and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund.
Of course, season 4 won't be hurting for familiar faces, either. Among those reuniting with Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), and Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) for yet another round of battling Upside-Down monsters and nefarious government agents are Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), and Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), as well as Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), and Brett Gelman (Murray Bauman).
Behind the camera, the Duffer Brothers and Levy will once again serve as producers on top of helming a handful of episodes. The rest of the writing and directing staff for season 4 is unknown for the moment — though, given the massive cast and how busy Levy has been with other projects of late, it's reasonable to assume the three didn't oversee this season on their own.