Stranger Things 4, the fourth season of Stranger Things, was announced on September 30, 2019.[2] Unlike previous seasons, this season was released in the form of two volumes; the first volume, consisting of seven episodes, premiered on Netflix on May 27, 2022, followed by the final two episodes five weeks later on July 1, 2022.[3][4]
The fourth season takes place in March 1986, eight months after the Battle of Starcourt that concluded the previous season. Notably, the season follows several storylines across a range of locations, including Hawkins, California, Nevada, Alaska and Russia. It also introduces Hellfire Club ringleader Eddie Munson, pizza delivery boy Argyle, basketball players Jason Carver and Patrick McKinney, Robin's love interest Vickie, prison guard Dmitri Antonov, eccentric "peanut butter smuggler" Yuri Ismaylov, cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham, student reporter Fred Benson and military commander Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan. Murray Bauman is promoted to the main cast this season. According to the credits, Suzie Bingham was promoted to recurring character this season, despite only appearing in two episodes.
In the first plotline, a string of mysterious murders is investigated by various groups in Hawkins; "the Party" and their allies identify the killer as a powerful being from the Upside Down, whom they later dub "Vecna". In the second plotline, Eleven goes with Dr. Brenner and Dr. Owens to a secret facility to help her regain her powers, while Mike, Will, Jonathan and Argyle try to track her down. The third plotline follows Joyce and Murray's attempts to rescue Hopper from a Soviet prison camp in Kamchatka, where they are forced to battle captured Demogorgons. The various plotlines converge in the season finale, an episode which sets the stage for the events of the final season.
Synopsis
It's been eight months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time - and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things easier. 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.[5]
Plot Summary
September 8, 1979. Hawkins National Laboratory, Hawkins...
Dr. Brenner is experimenting on test subject 010 until a mysterious incident kills all of the subjects except Eleven. In 1986 — eight months after the events at Starcourt Mall — Joyce, Will, Jonathan and Eleven have moved to a new house in Lenora Hills, California, where Eleven struggles with the loss of her powers and is bullied by other students at Lenora Hills High School. In Lenora and in Hawkins, Jonathan and Nancy simultaneously discuss their struggling long-distance relationship with their friends - Jonathan with pizza delivery boy Argyle, and Nancy with her fellow The Weekly Streak reporter, Fred Benson. Joyce receives a porcelain doll in the mail which seems to originate from Russia, and after following Murray's instructions to destroy it, finds a hidden note stating that Hopper is alive. In Hawkins, Mike and Dustin have joined the high school's "Hellfire Club", a Dungeons & Dragons club led by iconoclast Eddie Munson. As a result, they miss seeing Lucas win the basketball team's championship game. Max, who has broken up with Lucas, struggles to come to terms with Billy's death. Robin and Steve work at the Family Video, frequently discussing their love lives and Robin's crush on band member Vickie. Chrissy Cunningham, a student on the cheerleading team, is haunted by visions of her abusive mother Laura Cunningham and a chiming grandfather clock. While buying drugs from Eddie, Chrissy is possessed and killed by a sentient humanoid figure from her visions.
Hopper is shown in a flashback to have survived the explosion of the Key under Starcourt Mall, but is captured by Soviet soldiers and sent to a prison camp in Kamchatka. Joyce and Murray call the phone number on the note sent to Joyce and speak to "Enzo", revealed to be Dmitri Antonov, a prison guard that Hopper has bribed. Antonov has them deliver a $40,000 ransom to his contact in Alaska. Mike flies to California to visit Eleven, where he and Will witness her being bullied by her classmates Angela and Jake at Rink-O-Mania; Eleven eventually retaliates by striking Angela in the face with a roller skate. Back in Hawkins, Max tells Dustin she saw Eddie run away the night that Chrissy died. With help from Robin and Steve, they locate the traumatized Eddie and explain the Upside Down to him; Eddie and Dustin name the entity that killed Chrissy "Vecna". Nancy and Fred investigate Chrissy's death; Eddie's uncle Wayne Munson tells Nancy he believes the killer is Victor Creel, a Hawkins resident who was institutionalized after allegedly murdering his family in 1959. Fred is lured into the woods by visions of a student he accidentally killed before Vecna murders him.
Dr. Owens is visited by U.S. Army commander Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan, who believes Eleven is responsible for Chrissy's death. Eleven is arrested for assaulting Angela, but is intercepted by Owens, who explains that Hawkins is in grave danger and that he has been working on a program to help bring back Eleven's powers; Eleven agrees to go with him. Joyce and Murray fly to Alaska to deliver the ransom for Hopper. In the prison camp, Hopper bribes a fellow inmate to break his shackles with a sledgehammer. Nancy and Robin go to the public library to look up information about Victor Creel and discover that Creel blamed his family's murders on a demon, which Nancy and Robin conclude must be Vecna. Jason Carver leads Andy, Chance, and the rest of the basketball team on a hunt for Eddie, believing he killed Chrissy, but Lucas abandons them. Max recalls that Chrissy visited the school counselor Ms. Kelley before being killed by Vecna, and steals Chrissy and Fred's files from the counselor's office. She learns that they suffered from PTSD symptoms similar to hers; suddenly, Max hears Vecna call her name and envisions a grandfather clock.
Joyce and Murray deliver the ransom payment to Antonov's contact, peanut butter smuggler Yuri Ismaylov at Yuri's Fish n' Fly. However, Ismaylov drugs them, planning to turn them over to the Soviets - along with Hopper and Antonov - for a larger profit. Hopper escapes the prison camp but is soon recaptured. Agent Ellen Stinson, an ally to Dr. Owens, informs Jonathan, Mike, and Will that her colleagues Harmon and Wallace will protect them from Lt. Col. Sullivan, but Sullivan's soldiers soon launch an assault on the house; the boys escape with the help of Argyle, bringing an injured Harmon with them. Nancy and Robin interview an imprisoned Victor Creel, who recounts his family being tormented by supernatural forces and his daughter Alice and wife Virginia eventually being killed by them, with Victor being arrested for their deaths. Victor claims he was saved by the "voice of an angel", which the girls surmise was the song, "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" on the radio. Max, fearing her imminent death, writes letters to her friends and family and goes to the cemetery to read her letter to Billy by his grave. She is possessed by Vecna and sees herself inside his mind. Steve, Dustin, and Lucas learn from Nancy and Robin that playing music can break Vecna's spell. They play Max's favorite song, "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, via her Walkman, opening a mental window through which Max returns to reality.
Dr. Owens takes Eleven to the Nina Project; an abandoned ICBM silo in Nevada, where he and Dr. Brenner have developed a specialized sensory deprivation tank (dubbed "Nina") that will allow Eleven to access memories of her time with the other children at Hawkins Lab. After her first time in the tank, Eleven attempts to escape and briefly regains her powers, and Brenner convinces her to continue with the experiment. In California, before Agent Harmon dies, he gives the boys a pen containing a phone number for the Nina Project that connects to a modem; Mike decides to enlist the aid of Suzie in Salt Lake City. After Yuri's betrayal, Antonov is imprisoned alongside Hopper. While flying to Russia, Joyce and Murray subdue Yuri and crash-land in the wilderness. In Hawkins, Max, Lucas, Steve, and Dustin regroup with Nancy and Robin and decide to investigate the Creel House; inside, they encounter flickering lights, which they trace to Vecna's movements in the Upside Down. Jason and his teammates locate Eddie trying to escape in a boat at Lover's Lake; Jason and his teammate Patrick McKinney swim after him. While they are in the water, Vecna kills Patrick in front of Jason and Eddie.
Eleven relives memories of befriending a lab orderly, who warns her not to trust Brenner. She also recalls being bullied by 002 and other test subjects, leading her to believe she was responsible for the lab massacre. Suzie helps Mike's group locate the Nina Project's coordinates. Hopper and the other inmates are given a large feast, which Hopper warns is to prepare them to be fed to a captured adult Demogorgon. He later manages to pocket a lighter, recalling that the Demogorgon's weakness is fire. Joyce and Murray force Yuri to take them to a nearby town where he stores his goods, and decide to have Murray pose as Yuri to infiltrate the prison. Jason rallies Hawkins' residents at a Town Hall meeting organized by Chief Powell, Officer Callahan and Officer Glenn Daniels against Eddie's supposed Satanic cult, the Hellfire Club. Steve's group finds Eddie; Dustin notices his compass malfunctioning and realizes there must be a new gate to the Upside Down nearby. They trace the gate to Lover's Lake, and dub the gate "Watergate", where Steve dives down to inspect it before being yanked into the Upside Down by a vine and attacked by bat-like creatures. Nancy, Robin, and Eddie dive in after him.
Joyce, Murray, and Yuri enter Kamchatka and witness Hopper, Dmitri, and their fellow prisoners including Oleg fighting the adult Demogorgon. Hopper holds the creature back with a flaming spear while Murray and Joyce subdue the guards and open the prison doors, allowing Hopper and Antonov to escape. Joyce and Hopper reunite. Dustin, Lucas, and Erica theorize that Vecna has spawned a gate at the site of each murder, which they communicate to Steve's group in the Upside Down via electricity. Both parties reunite inside Eddie's trailer, where Chrissy died; Robin and Eddie safely exit, but Vecna possesses Nancy. She discovers that he is Victor Creel's son Henry, who killed his mother and sister with his psychokinetic powers before falling into a coma and being placed in Brenner's care. Henry became subject 001 in Brenner's attempts to replicate his powers, later serving as the orderly that befriended Eleven. Eleven finally remembers Henry committing the lab massacre and trying to kill her when she refused to help fulfill his ambitions. Eleven is revealed to have overpowered Henry and sent him to the Upside Down, where he became Vecna.
Vecna shows Nancy a vision of the future where Hawkins is torn apart before releasing her. The group determine that Vecna needs four gates to enact his plan; Max offers to lure Vecna into possessing her so the others can attack him while he is distracted. Eleven, using her powers, learns of this plan and gets Owens to arrange transit to Hawkins. However, Brenner locks up Dr. Owens and drugs Eleven, insisting that she needs to complete her training. Eleven accuses Brenner of using her to try to recover Henry from the Upside Down. Sullivan and his forces arrive at the site and kill the staff except Dr. Owens; Brenner flees with Eleven, but is fatally shot by a soldier in a military helicopter. Eleven uses her powers to destroy the helicopter just as Mike's group arrives; as Brenner dies, Eleven expresses sadness, but does not forgive his actions. Dr. Owens is left under Sullivan's custody. In Kamchatka, Hopper, Joyce, Murray, Yuri and Antonov escape the prison; on their way out, they discover a room with cryogenic tanks containing frozen Demodogs, and a heated cell that holds a fragment of the Mind Flayer. Several guards, including Ivan, are killed by the adult Demogorgon.
The Hawkins group enact their plan: Max, Lucas, and Erica go to the Creel House, while Steve, Nancy, and Robin go to its Upside Down counterpart to attack Vecna. Dustin and Eddie distract the bats, with Eddie sacrificing himself in the process. Eleven's group create a makeshift sensory deprivation tank at a local Surfer Boy Pizza restaurant, allowing Eleven to use psychic projection and defend Max's mind from Vecna, inspired by the times when she went into Terry and Billy's minds. Max begins hallucinating in the Creel attic, but evades Vecna by slipping into a memory. Vecna and Eleven both enter the memory, with Vecna ultimately overpowering Eleven; he pulls the psychic avatars of the girls into the Mind Lair, restraining them with vines. He reveals to Eleven that he created the Mind Flayer, and has controlled the Upside Down ever since. Mike professes his love to Eleven, giving her the strength to break Vecna's control over Max, but after interference from Jason, Max dies from her injuries. Hopper, Joyce, and Murray reenter the prison, where the Mind Flayer's particles - accidentally freed from its cell by richocheting bullets - has entered the frozen Demodogs, reanimating them. Murray burns and kills the Demodogs with Yuri's flamethrower, weakening Vecna through the hive mind; moments later, Hopper beheads the adult Demogorgon with a sword. In the Upside Down version of the Creel attic, Steve, Robin, and Nancy attack Vecna's true form, setting him ablaze; Vecna is severely injured, but flees the Creel House before the group can finish killing him. Eleven uses her powers to revive Max, but the latter's brief death allows Vecna's gates to open and tear through Hawkins, which results in Jason's death. Two days later, the town is recovering from an "earthquake." Everyone unites, while Max remains comatose. Will senses that Vecna is still alive; soon after, dark plumes rise from the four gates, a supernatural storm begins to rage in the skies, and the Upside Down's spores fall across Hawkins.
Cast and characters
Episodes
# | Image | Title | Director | Writers | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 | "The Hellfire Club"[6] | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | ||
El is bullied at school. Joyce opens a mysterious package. A scrappy player shakes up D&D night. | |||||
27 | "Vecna's Curse" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | ||
A plane brings Mike to California — and a dead body brings Hawkins to a halt. Nancy looks for leads. A shaken Eddie tells the gang what he saw. | |||||
28 | "The Monster and the Superhero" | Shawn Levy[7] | Caitlin Schneiderhan | ||
Murray and Joyce fly to Alaska, and El faces serious consequences. Robin and Nancy dig up dirt on Hawkins' demons. Dr. Owens delivers sobering news. | |||||
29 | "Dear Billy" | Shawn Levy | Paul Dichter | ||
Max is in grave danger... and running out of time. A patient at Pennhurst asylum has visitors. Elsewhere, in Russia, Hopper is at hard work. | |||||
30 | "The Nina Project" | Nimród Antal[8] | Kate Trefry | ||
Owens takes El to Nevada, where she's forced to confront her past, while the Hawkins kids comb a crumbling house for clues. Vecna claims another victim. | |||||
31 | "The Dive" | Nimród Antal[8] | Curtis Gwinn | ||
Behind the Iron Curtain, a risky rescue mission gets underway. The California crew seeks help from a hacker. Steve takes one for the team. | |||||
32 | "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | ||
As Hopper braces to battle a monster, Dustin dissects Vecna's motives — and decodes a message from beyond. El finds strength in a distant memory. | |||||
33 | "Papa" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | ||
Nancy has sobering visions, and El passes an important test. Back in Hawkins, the gang gathers supplies and prepares for battle. | |||||
34 | "The Piggyback" | The Duffer Brothers | The Duffer Brothers | ||
With selfless hearts and a clash of metal, heroes fight from every corner of the battlefield to save Hawkins — and the world itself. |
Production
Development
As with seasons past, planning for the fourth season of Stranger Things began before the preceding season's release. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly that ran shortly after the third season's release, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed the series' creative team had already met on several occasions to discuss the show's future. On September 30, 2019, Netflix announced it had signed the Duffer Brothers for a new multi-year television and film deal that was reportedly worth nine figures. To coincide with the production deal announcement, Netflix also announced the renewal of Stranger Things for a fourth season by releasing a brief, minute-long teaser on YouTube.
Writing
The Duffers originally concieved Stranger Things 4 as an eight episode season. However, partway through writing, Matt and Ross realized an additional episode was needed, if they were to include all their desired plot points. Their request for an ninth episode was quickly approved by Netflix.[9][10]
During production on the first season, the duo prepared a twenty-page document for Netflix that explained the show's universe, including what the Upside Down is, in clear detail. In turn, material from the document dictated certain plots while writing the season. The Duffers wanted to spend more time within the Upside Down in this season, as the narrative of the third season gave them little opportunity to explore it further.[9]
Casting
For the fourth season, both Priah Ferguson[11] and Brett Gelman[12] were upped to series regulars.
On July 1, 2020, it was announced that Joel Stoffer had been cast in an undisclosed role.
On November 20, 2020, it was officially announced that Robert Englund, Eduardo Franco, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sherman Augustus, Mason Dye, Tom Wlaschiha, Nikola Đjuričko, and Joseph Quinn had joined the cast for the fourth season, with Eduardo Franco, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Joseph Quinn updated to series regulars.[13]
On June 9, 2021, it was announced that Amybeth McNulty, Myles Truitt, Regina Ting Chen, and Grace Van Dien had joined the cast for the fourth season.[14]
Filming
According to a report made by TVLine, Season 4 was slated to begin filming in January 2020.[10]
The season's first teaser was released on February 14. That same day, it was announced in a joint statement from the Duffer Brothers and Netflix that production had officially begun on the fourth season[15] in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the recently decommissioned Lukiškės Prison.[16] It can be surmised production begun sometime in January, as the TV Line report claimed, on in early February. According to a listing in Production Weekly, the season was being filmed under the working title "Tareco", the name of a type of Brazilian biscuit.[17]
After production wrapped in Lithuania, filming resumed in the United States in and around the Atlanta metro area, the primary production location of previous seasons. However, after two weeks of filming, all Netflix productions, including Stranger Things, were halted on March 16, 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] According to stunt co-ordinator Hiro Koda, two episodes of the season were filmed before production was halted.[19] The six-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic gave the Duffers and writers' room additional time to complete the seasons' scripts compared to previous seasons, which in turn freed them up to outline all of Season 5.[20]
On October 1, 2020, it was officially confirmed that filming for the fourth season had resumed.[21] On the occasion of Stranger Things Day, photos of Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink, and Caleb McLaughlin during filming takes were released on November 6.[22] On January 27, 2021, Jamie Campbell Bower and Matthew Modine were spotted filming scenes in Atlanta, Georgia.
To visually distinguish between the season's three storylines, costume designer Amy Parris revealed that each of the plot's locations had their own distinct color palette:
“ | It's so fun because [the production team gets] to kind of capture California versus Hawkins through color. So, Hawkins still looks very saturated. We don't have as much as the dusty, rusty brown of Seasons 1 or 2 ... And in California, we get to incorporate baby pinks, and fun teals and purples. It's way more sun-soaked and saturated as opposed to the richer colors of Hawkins.
— Amy Parris[23]
|
” |
American shoe company Converse designed three different styles of shoes using the Hawkins High School colors to be worn onscreen during a scene depicting a pep rally.[23]
Music
Both volumes of the original soundtrack album for the fourth season, titled Stranger Things 4, were released digitally on July 1, 2022, via Lakeshore and Invada Records.[24] Like the previous three seasons, the soundtrack was composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the electronic band Survive. Both volumes were also released on physical formats such as CD and vinyl.[24]
The non-original soundtrack companion album for the season, titled Stranger Things: Music from the Netflix Original Series, Season 4, was released digitally in two volumes by Legacy Recordings on May 27 and July 1, respectively.
Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" is featured multiple times during the season, including as part of the key scene in episode 4, with Max escaping from Vecna. The Duffers had envisioned a powerful emotional song for Max and had tasked music supervisor Nora Felder to determine which song would be used. Felder came upon "Running Up That Hill", which the Duffers agreed was a great fit for both the music itself and the theme of dealing with God.[25] Winona Ryder also mentioned in an interview that she had been dropping hints to include the singer since the first season, arriving on sets in her Kate Bush T-shirts.[26] Felder knew that Bush had been cautious on music licensing before, but after contacting her, Felder learned Bush was a fan of the show, and after reviewing the script pages where the song would be used, Bush agreed to clear licensing rights to the song for the show.[25] The song saw a resurgence of popularity with an increase of over 8,700% on streaming charts, reaching the second-most heard song on Spotify playlists in the United States and the fourth-most song for worldwide charts.[27]
Metallica's "Master of Puppets" was prominently featured in the season finale when Eddie played its guitar riffs and solo as music to lure and distract Demobats in the Upside Down. The song also got a significant boost peaking at number one on streaming platforms, and made listings on music charts in both the United States and United Kingdom for the first time since the song's original release in 1986,[28] and made listings on music charts in both the US and UK for the first time since the song's original release in 1986.[29]
Other songs featured in season 4, such as Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie", and Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus", also saw increased streaming playbacks of around 1,784%.[27] The final two episodes of the season featured period music and classic rock songs such as Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Spellbound", James Taylor's "Fire and Rain", Rick Derringer's "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" and Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)".
Marketing
Trailers
The fourth season's announcement teaser, released on September 30, 2019, showed a ticking grandfather clock in the Upside Down and ended with the tagline "We're not in Hawkins anymore".
The first footage-based teaser was released on February 14, 2020. The teaser was discreetly labelled "001/004", and confirmed Jim Hopper was still alive.
A teaser showing the Season 4 table read was released on March 3, 2020.
The second footage-based teaser was released on May 6, 2021. The trailer was labelled "002/004", and teased the return of Dr. Brenner and the other test subjects at Hawkins Lab.
On August 6, 2021, a Season 4 sneak peek was released, featuring most of the core cast. The trailer announced that the season would release sometime in 2022.
A third footage-based teaser, labelled "003/004", was released on September 25th, 2021. The teaser's first half showcased the Creels moving into their new home in the '50s, and a glimpse of the subsequent massacre that occurred there. The second half takes place in the '80s, showing the Party and their allies breaking into the abandoned home, and a glimpse of the Upside Down. For unknown reasons, this teaser was later made private on all official Stranger Things social media channels, though reuploads of the teaser are widely available and viewable.
On November 6, 2021. the fourth and final footage-based teaser, labelled "004/004", was released as part of Stranger Things Day. The teaser centered on Eleven's new life in California. A "title tease" was also released, listing all of Season 4's episode titles via a special variant of the title sequence. The season was described as releasing "Summer 2022".
The first full trailer released on April 12, 2022 at 10 A.M. EST. It showcased the Upside Down, the Creel House, and new creatures from the Upside Down.
On May 14, 2022, during Millie Bobby Brown's appearance on Jimmy Fallon, a clip from "The Hellfire Club" was shown, showcasing, Angela, Jake and their friends tormenting Eleven in the school courtyard. On May 17, 2022, during Sadie Sink's appearance on GMA3, a clip from "The Hellfire Club" was shown with Ms. Kelly talking to Max.
On May 22, 2022, the final trailer for Vol. 1 dropped showcasing Max and Nancy in Vecna's mindscape, Robin, Nancy and Steve in the Upside Down, the Hellfire Club at a campaign and much much more.
On May 25, 2022, during Gaten Matarazzo's appearance on Live with Kelly & Ryan, a clip was shown in which Max and Dustin rush into Family Video to talk to Steve and Robin.
Images
On February 17, 2022, five posters of multiple characters were showcased on the Stranger Things Instagram page. Among these posters, there was a final poster with all of them combined announcing that Vol. 1 would be released on May 27, 2022 and Vol. 2 would follow and release on July 1, 2022.
On March 23, a day after Will Byers' birthday, twelve different stills were posted on the Stranger Things Instagram page, showing multiple characters, old and new.
On April 20, 2022, the magazine company SFX released three different magazines showcasing the Party along with Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley and Steve Harrington. Inside, the magazines had multiple behind the scenes photos as well as never-before seen photos of the Hawkins crew and California crew.
On April 27, 2022, a poster of Eleven was released, showcasing her shaved head, hospital gown and Hawkins Lab at the bottom of the poster.
On May 2, 2022, personal posters for Jim Hopper, Joyce Byers, and Murray Bauman were released, with a Russian base at the bottom of the poster.
On May 5, 2022, personal posters for Mike Wheeler, Will Byers, Jonathan Byers and Argyle were released, showcasing California and the current Byers residence beneath.
On May 9, 2022, personal posters for Max Mayfield, Lucas Sinclair, Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Erica Sinclair, Nancy Wheeler, Karen Wheeler, and Eddie Munson were released, showcasing the Hawkins crew (Max and Lucas), the Scoops Troop (Dustin, Steve, Robin and Erica), the Wheelers (Nancy and Karen), and the Hellfire Club (Eddie). All of the posters have the Creel House at the bottom, showing the connection to all the characters.
On May 12, 2022, another official poster was released showcasing Vecna, Eleven, Max Mayfield, Lucas Sinclair, Robin Buckley, Nancy Wheeler, Eddie Munson, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, Steve Harrington, Erica Sinclair, Joyce Byers, Jim Hopper, Murray Bauman, Jonathan Byers and Argyle, in their respective locations. The poster also shows Creel House, Creel clock, Demobats, Russia, and California.
On May 14, 2022, following Millie Bobby Brown's appearance on Jimmy Fallon, four photos were taken from a teaser showing, Will Byers, Eleven, Angela, Jake and a few of their friends tormenting El.
On May 18, 2022, the website IGN released four stills of Hopper and Yuri at the Kamchatka base in Russia, and then Max Mayfield and Dustin Henderson at Family Video, Dustin, Eddie Munson and Mike Wheeler in the Hawkins High cafeteria, showcasing their Hellfire Club shirts and Steve Harrington with Max and Dustin investigating something in Hawkins.
On May 21, 2022, during Seven Stranger Days, one still and 12 behind the scenes photos were released, showcasing the Erica with the Hellfire Club, Hawkins High tigers at the basketball game and multiple characters and the crew behind Stranger Things.
Release
The release was initially thought to be split with Vol. 1 consisting of 5 episodes and Vol. 2 consisting of 4. But on May 20, 2022, it was revealed that Vol. 1 would consist of 7 episodes and would releases on May 27, 2022 with the remaining 2 episodes released on July 1, 2022.[4]
Gallery
Notes
- This is the second season to have nine episode count since Season 2.
- This is the first season to be released in two parts via volumes.
- This is the first season to have several series regulars (Jamie Campbell Bower, Cara Buono, Eduardo Franco, and Joseph Quinn) to be placed under “Also Starring” header instead of being in the opening credits, this was because of the season’s extensive main cast.
- This season overall breaks many of the show's traditions:
- It's the first season where Joyce never says Will's name directly onscreen.
- It's the first season where both Hopper and Mike are absent from an episode respectively (Hopper is absent in "The Hellfire Club" while Mike is absent in "The Massacre at Hawkins Lab"). This makes Dustin and Lucas the only characters to appear in every episode of the series (when including archive footage).
- This is the first season where Lucas neither wears his camo bandana nor uses his slingshot.
- This is the first season where Jonathan doesn't take pictures.
- This is the first season where Steve doesn't take a beating to the face by a threat, though he's injured by Demobats near his neck, sides, and stomach.
- This is the first season not to feature Scott Clarke or Florence.
- This is the first season that doesn't use the show's theme during any of the credits.
- On October 15, 2020, the @strangerwriters Twitter account jokingly revealed the titles of Chapter 2, 3 and 4, before subsequently confirming the titles were misleading. The episode names were "Tick Tok Mr Clock", "You Snooze You Lose", and "Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey", respectively.[30]
- The fourth season is notable for its inclusion of Gothic concepts, motifs and imagery, which were largely absent from earlier seasons:
- In an interview with IGN, the Duffer Brothers noted that the Demobats "kind of got a gothic, vampire quality".[31]
- The Creel House belongs to the Victorian Gothic style of architecture, with the real-world house being built in 1882.
- The season makes recurrent use of spider imagery; spiders are a minor trope in Gothic literature, notably appearing in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
- Vecna's monstrous transformation could be compared to that of a vampire, and similar such bodily transformations from Gothic literature.
- "Vecna's Curse" makes explicit mention of "ghosts", a common Gothic motif.
- A graveyard - Roane Hill Cemetery - is prominently featured.
- When Max hallucinates at the graveyard, she sees the cemetery covered in fog and mist, which is also a well-established Gothic trope.
- Dreams and curses are prominently featured, as in much of Gothic literature.
- The season places emphasis on the notion of the past "haunting" the future, with events from 1959 and 1979 looming over 1986. This is a theme featured in many Gothic novels, including The Castle of Otrano and The House of the Seven Gables.
- Organs are a prominent part of the season's score and soundtrack.
- The season's main villain, Vecna, is inspired by Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Pinhead from Hellraiser (1987) and Pennywise from It (1990).[31]
- Robert Englund reached out to the Duffers and asked to be a part of the season.[31]
- In the Season 3 finale, a fictional news show, The Cutting Edge, ran a promo for an expose on the apparently "Satanic" events taking place in Hawkins, foreshadowing narrative elements from the fourth season.
References
- ↑ Twitter post from the official writers' account
- ↑ "Stranger Things 4 officially announced with new teaser" Entertainment Weekly. September 30, 2019.
- ↑ Every ending has a beginning. Vol. 1 is coming May 27. Vol. 2 is coming July 1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Is the Most Supersized Ever
- ↑ 'Stranger Things': The Duffer Brothers Reveal a Supersized Season 4 Rollout and Share News About the Series’ Future
- ↑ Chapter One title revealed via the show's writers
- ↑ Stranger Things Director Reveal Series Superstition That Continues in Season 4
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hungarian Director Nimród Antal to Direct Two Episodes of Stranger Things
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "'Stranger Things': Duffer Brothers On Season 4's Epic Scope; Long-Burning Mythology Questions Answered — Contenders TV" Deadline. April 10, 2022.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Stranger Things Season 4: Here's How Many Episodes We're Getting" TVLine. October 24, 2019.
- ↑ "‘Stranger Things’ Ups Priah Ferguson to Series Regular for Season 4 (EXCLUSIVE)" Variety. February 21, 2020.
- ↑ ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4: ‘Fleabag’s Brett Gelman Upped To Series Regular" Deadline. March 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Official Twitter thread revealing new season 4 charaters". November 20, 2020.
- ↑ "Official Instagram post revealing new season 4 characters" June 9, 2021.
- ↑ "Hopper lives! Stranger Things season 4 teaser reveals David Harbour's return" Entertainment Weekly. February 14, 2020.
- ↑ "Stranger Things Season 4: New Behind-The-Scenes Images Revealed" IGN. February 18, 2020.
- ↑ "Stranger Things Season 4 Working Title Revealed" ComicBook. December 9, 2019.
- ↑ "‘Stranger Things,’ ‘One Day at a Time’ Producers on Shutting Down: ‘It’s Bittersweet’" Variety. March 18, 2020.
- ↑ "Stranger Things: Stunt Coordinator Hiro Koda Teases “Darker” Season 4, Explains How Social Distancing Will Affect Stunts" Comicbook. May 23, 2020.
- ↑ "Stranger Things Season 5: Duffer Brothers Have Outlined All the Scripts" The Collider Interviews YouTube channel. May 19, 2022.
- ↑ "Official Twitter Post" October 1, 2020.
- ↑ "Official Twitter Post" November 6, 2020.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "10 Things We Learned on the Set of 'Stranger Things' Season 4" Collider. April 18, 2022.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Stranger Things 4 Score Announced, Stream Two New Tracks: Exclusive" Consequence of Sound. June 30, 2022.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "How ‘Stranger Things’ Landed Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’" Variety. June 1, 2022.
- ↑ "1985 hit 'Running Up That Hill' sprints up the charts, thanks to 'Stranger Things'" The Current. June 7, 2022.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ Soars in Streams Thanks to ‘Stranger Things’: Inside the Preliminary Spotify Gains" Billboard. May 31, 2022.
- ↑ "'Master of Puppets' got some 'Stranger Things' love. Now Metallica returns the favor" Los Angeles Times. July 5, 2022.
- ↑ "Metallica Follows Kate Bush Into Charts, Thanks Once Again To 'Stranger Things' Phenomenon" Deadline Hollywood. July 16, 2022.
- ↑ "Stranger Things Writers' Twitter Post"
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 "Stranger Things Season 4: Exclusive Trailer Breakdown With The Duffer Brothers" YouTube.