We are still waiting for season four of Stranger Things to debut on Netflix, although at least we now have a release date for the premiere of the first batch of episodes — May 27.
In an open letter to the (many) fans of the sci-fi series, creators Matt and Ross Duffer said, “Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things.
“At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four but — as you’ll see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale.”
Netflix has also announced that the fifth season of the hit tv show will be its last, but production has not yet begun.
In the meantime, the highly-anticipated fourth season — which has been plagued by numerous pandemic related delays — will be released in two parts.
“It’s been a little while,” the Duffer brothers said in their open letter.
“With nine scripts, over eight hundred pages, almost two years of filming, thousands of visual effects shots and a runtime nearly twice the length of any previous season, Stranger Things 4 was the most challenging season yet, but also the most rewarding one. Everyone involved is incredibly proud of the results, and we can’t wait to share it with you. Given the unprecedented length, and to get it to you as soon as possible, Season 4 will be released in two volumes.”
Before you feel too dismayed about the end of the series and the prospect of having to bid farewell to the kids from Hawkins plus Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour), the Duffer’s have also hinted that there is still more to come from the Stranger Things universe.
“There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes,” they said. “But first, we hope that you stay with us as we finish this tale of a powerful girl named Eleven and her brave friends, of a broken police chief and a ferocious mom, of a small town called Hawkins and an alternate dimension known only as the Upside Down.”
Since Stranger Things debuted in 2016 it has collected 31 Emmy nominations and won six. Not to mention the huge multimillion-dollar empire that has spawned from the series, including comic books, interactive experiences, mobile games and more.
The fourth season, for which the young cast is said to earn USD $250,000 an episode, will pick up six months after the events of the season three finale and sees the group of friends separated for the first time while navigating the complexities of high school. Per the official synopsis, “in this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”
In a previous trailer for the upcoming season, we were introduced to the Creels — a seemingly picture-perfect family, content in their new palatial home… before a flash frame of the two Creel children laying dead (or maybe unconscious) at their father’s feet tell us that not all is at it seems.
Robert Englund, who of course is best known for playing Freddie Kruger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films, will play Victor Creel, a convicted murderer imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital.
Other trailers for the series have featured hints as to Hopper’s fate after the heart-wrenching season three finale and also suggested that we’ll be seeing more of Dr Brenner, even though he was thought to have died in season one.
Stranger Things Season Four, Volume One, will drop on Netflix on May 27 with the second half of the fourth season to debut on July 1.
Watch the most recent trailer below.
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