“Stranger Things” has returned. And it couldn’t come at a better time.
The renowned sci-fi adventure set in the 1980s about a group of youngsters in small-town America who confront otherworldly oddities due to their proximity to an other realm known as the Upside Down is set to return at the end of May with a batch of super-sized episodes (with another bundle of episodes coming in July). And now, for the first time, we have the greatest look at the new season, dubbed “Stranger Things 4.”
The Duffer Brothers, creators and showrunners of “Stranger Things,” dubbed this season the “Game of Thrones” season over the weekend, owing to the geographical dispersion of the characters and the length of the episodes. And the trailer confirms that, with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) residing in California with Will (Noah Schnapp) and Joyce (Winona Ryder). Of course, Hopper (David Harbour) is stuck in Russia, while Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and the rest of the kids, as well as adorable satellite characters like Steve (Joe Keery) and Robin, have returned to Hawkins (Maya Hawke). (Previous trailers focused on Eleven’s anticipation of seeing Mike during spring break.)
Of course, the teaser features everything we’ve come to expect from “Stranger Things”: goopy monsters (this time some that are flying), a looming federal conspiracy (Paul Reiser returns! ), and more. The entire sequence is set to a properly frightening remix of Journey’s “Separate Ways,” already an 80s pop culture favorite for its inclusion in “TRON”). It’s just great getting up with the characters (it’s fantastic to see Hopper is now being recruited for the Demagorgan death arena), and the new tonal aspects (the Duffers have compared the season to “A Nightmare on Elm Street”) are shining brightly.
Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Priah Ferguson, and Brett Gelman star in “Stranger Things 4,” which premieres on May 27. Prepare your leg warmers.
The official summary for “Stranger Things 4” is as follows:
“It’s been six months since Hawkins was terrorized and destroyed by the Battle of Starcourt. Our group of pals is separated for the first time as a result of the aftermath – and negotiating the complexity of high school hasn’t made things any simpler. A new and terrifying supernatural menace emerges at this most vulnerable period, posing a horrible puzzle that, if answered, could ultimately put an end to the Upside Down’s atrocities.”