By Rashmi Goel

Season 4 of Stranger Things is coming to Netflix very soon - and it has a trailer. With plenty of short teasers to tide us over, the wait has been long, but the newest footage promises a truly explosive season. There isn't much time left in season 4, however, as it has been split in two - so we will have to wait a little longer before we watch the rest. This article includes everything you need to know about Stranger Things season 4, from who's who in the cast to the plot, that intriguing new trailer, and even a look at when (and where) the new episodes may be set, the film that inspired them, and so much more.

Release Date For Stranger Things

Stranger Things season 4 has been announced by Netflix. In the new season, the first part will start on May 27, while the second will follow on July 1. It is unknown how many episodes each batch will contain. What is the reason for the two release dates? Duffer brothers, who run the show, said in a statement that the new season is the biggest yet, and because of that, it's taking longer than expected to finish. In response, they have decided to release the episodes in two parts. It should also be noted that Stranger Things season 5 will be the show's last. That means the storyline will end at the end of the season. Yet, according to the showrunners, there are "many more exciting stories to be told in the Stranger Things universe," which sounds to us like a call for a spin-off.

Cast Of Stranger Things

 The cast includes Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Sadie Sink (Max), Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Joe Keery (Steve), Cara Buono (Karen), Winona Ryder (Joyce), Noah Schnapp (Will), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) and Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven). David Harbour's Hopper and Maya Hawke. Brett Gelman is still around as Murray Bauman. After the briefest of wordless appearances in the season 3 finale, Paul Reiser's Sam Owens will definitely play a role next season. Priah Ferguson is also back as Erica, Lucas's little sister. Now for the newcomers. This season's Stranger Things features three regulars. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones star Jamie Campbell Bower (Sweeney Todd) will star as Peter Ballard, a "psychiatric hospital orderly" who is "tired of the brutality he witnesses day after day". That character sure does sound like Eleven's ancestor. Jonathan's new friend Argyle is played by Eduardo Franco (Booksmart, The Binge) and described as a "fun-loving stoner who delivers delicious pizza pies for Surfer Boy Pizza". Among the new regulars is Joseph Quinn (Catherine the Great, Howards End) as Eddie Munson, the proprietor of The Hellfire Club. Eight recurring characters join those three regulars. In the film, Sherman Augustus plays Lt. Colonel Sullivan, a man who believes he can stop Hawkins from becoming evil. A rich, handsome, teen named Jason Carver is dating the most popular girl in school, played by Mason Dye (Bosch, The Goldbergs). A new evil threatens Hawkins and Jason's perfect world begins to unravel," read Netflix's description of him. Yuri will be played by Nikola Djuricko (Genius, In the Land of Blood and Honey), "a wet and wild Russian smuggler who likes bad jokes, hard cash, and crunchy peanut butter." Russian? There's also Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Jack Ryan), who will play Dmitri, a Russian prison guard who befriends Hopper. Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise) will play Victor Creel, "a disturbed and intimidating man who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for a gruesome murder in the '50s." There is a question of whether he is trustworthy, which will probably apply to many of these new characters. The cast also welcomes Anne With An E's Amybeth McNulty as Vicky, a "cool, fast-talking band nerd" who catches the eye of one of our heroes. Miles Truitt will play basketball star Patrick, Regina Ting Chen will play guidance counselor Ms. Kelly, and Grace Van Dien will play lead cheerleader Chrissie, who has a "dark secret."

Stranger Things season 4 episode count and titles

Stranger Things season 4 will also be nine episodes long, just like the second season. The opening episode of this upcoming season, titled "The Hellfire Club," was revealed in a tweet with the message: "Looking for new members... are you in?" The other episodes have been revealed as well: Vecna’s Curse, The Monster and The Superhero, Dear Billy, The Nina Project, The Dive, The Massacre At Hawkins Lab, Papa, and The Piggyback. Despite being a famous group from the X-Men comics, The Hellfire Club serves as Hawkins High's official Dungeons & Dragons club. Joseph Quinn will play Eddie Munson, a character who runs the club. Stranger Things season 4 will feature tons of role-playing.

The Setting Of Stranger Things Season 4

 As of right now, the most important question is when the new season will start. The first three seasons were set in November 1983, October 1984, and July 1985, respectively, so Stranger Things season 4 would follow the established pattern. However, it wouldn't be surprising if the show completely omitted 1986 and skipped straight to 1987. This theory is more based on the fact that the teenage cast is aging much faster in real life than they are in the show. Though Eleven, Mike, Dustin, and the rest of the cast have been on the show for only 20 months, in real life they have aged more than three years - and it will be at least another 18 months before we see them again. There needs to be a greater gap between seasons of the show because the characters are getting older. Shawn Levy has said the show can't make episodes any faster. GamesRadar+'s sister publication SFX reported ahead of season three that Levy probably tells himself every week that he should work faster. "We realize we are working at the speed we are capable of. No matter how much we might want to work faster, we must adapt to the pace we're working at. Because we aren't able to change the speed, we must accept the evolution of our actors - there is no choice.."

Hopper's Return In Stranger Things Season 4

 One of the biggest mysteries in Hawkins is Jim Hopper's whereabouts. Eleven and the gang, however, do not know whether the "American" will be back. It remains to be seen how they will deal with his inevitable return. Harbour has announced that Stranger Things season 4 will feature a "big, huge reveal about Hopper's past." Specifically, it relates to one of the marked boxes Eleven finds midway through the second season in Hopper's stash. As Harbour mentions that there are five boxes, one of which contains Brenner's things from Hawkins Lab, one of which indicates "Dad," one of which indicates "Vietnam," and one that states "New York." In other words, there are three things that we've established throughout the season that if we fail to pay off, it says that they are bad writers. It is an honor to unveil this aspect of the character written by the Duffer brothers." He continued: "I am so excited about revealing this aspect of the character." Those are things I've known since the start of the film, but haven't expressed yet. Lastly, we're gonna express it in a big way. During a press run for Black Widow, Harbour discussed how Hopper's return was like that of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings: "I love the way he has a backstory about New York, Vietnam, and his father." They've been talking since the first season, he said. Our fascination was always with the Gandalf resurrection story, where Gandalf the Grey fights the Balrog to become Gandalf the White. The reincarnation concept always fascinated us. Hopper adapted to this concept mythologically. It was impossible to carry on in such a manner. It was imperative that he return home. The future will be very different for him. He'll still be the same guy, but the tone will be different. Playing that is a great experience."

Plot For Stranger Things Season 4

 Stranger Things season 4 synopsis reads: "We are six months after the Battle of Starcourt, which caused chaos and terror to Hawkins. Struggling with the fallout, our friends are separated for the first time, and navigating high school isn't easy." In During this most vulnerable time, new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting an intriguing mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down." The Russian-speaking conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman, who was a major character in season 3 (and who has been promoted to a regular role for season 4), has hinted that he knows something about Hopper's whereabouts and may be able to help bring him back to Hawkins. Bauman might go exploring? Stranger Things season 4 will also explore how Eleven is coping now that her telekinetic powers have been lost - and how she is adjusting to life after Hopper, living in a new town in California with the Byers. Photos show Eleven being wheeled on a stretcher, complete with an oxygen mask. This suggests things will not go smoothly for her. Several police cars, an armed soldier or guard, and plenty of rubble are also visible - so whatever happens in this moment, it is dangerous. With Entertainment Weekly, Duffer also discussed new locations: "I think the biggest change we're going to see is the game will open up a bit, not necessarily in terms of scale, but in terms of allowing plotlines to branch out beyond Hawkins." There is a possibility that "Areas outside of Hawkins" could refer to the Byers' new home or, for that matter, more trips to the Soviet Union - after all, after building that massive base under the Starcourt Mall, Communist forces are unlikely to disappear any time soon. Indeed, Duffer is probably referring to the Upside Down, a mysterious world we haven't spent much time in over the past three seasons. Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas, told Entertainment Weekly, "No one really knows what the Upside Down is; we just know what it produces, like Demogorgons and like the Mind Flayer." Nonetheless, Upside Down is an alternate dimension of our world. There's more to our world than Demodogs, Demogorgons, and Mind Flayers, so no one really knows." It's not even the Duffers, however, as Levy readily admitted to SFX back in June, "we don't follow any overarching road map. Every year, we explore the things that interest us at the time, so we don't plan everything." In July, Ross Duffer told Entertainment Weekly that "a lot of the big strokes of season four of Stranger Things are known." "At the end of season two, we knew about Billy Hargrove," he said. The Russians were going to invade. Even though we didn't know about the mall and stuff, we do know these broad strokes. Season 4 is where we are right now. Here are the broad strokes. The next step will be filling in those details. This could be quite an exciting project. There will be a lot of changes to the current season. However, I believe that's the right thing to do, and I think it'll be an exciting time."

Movies Influencing Stranger Things Season 4

 Considering the first season 4 teaser says, "We're not in Hawkins anymore," these might be touchstones for how the Byers family deals with life outside Indiana. A more obscure reference point may be The Peanut Butter Solution, which has plenty of fantasy horror as well as an older authority figure exploiting children for their own amusement - similar to Eleven's origins. The most famous and interesting may be Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. The reason for this is because it features time travel while also being delightfully '80s in terms of its big hair, big ballads, and even more fantastical scope, despite having been released in 1991.