Season 4 of 'Stranger Things' Has Some Ridiculously Long Episodes
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Warning: This post contains spoilers for Season 3 of Stranger Things! Stop reading now if you haven't seen it yet.
Thanks mostly to that relentless Covid-19 pandemic, it feels like its been a lifetime since the third season of Stranger Things debuted back on July 4, 2019 (It has been just under three years, to be fair). And while that real-life time gap between seasons isn't getting any shorter, at least Netflix is doing us a solid: releasing the first eight minutes of Stranger Things early.
That first scene of the season details a new horror—a version of Eleven on, essentially, a killing spree. It's the kind of atmospheric, Stephen King-esque, '80s-esque horror that we all love about Stranger Things. It's worth checking out.
That follows a series of teasers and trailers that have trickled out over the last couple years, including revelations that, Hopper is, indeed, alive, that there will be a new and horrifying monster, and that those darn kids are now darn teens! And as the end of Season 3 let us know, the kids are going to be separated.
Many questions remain—how will Eleven and the boys find Hopper? How will they even operate when not spending every waking minute with one another?
We're not too concerned about all the mysery, to be honest. That part will come with time. We're more excited that Season 4 is almost here, and we get to spend some more time with the great characters the show has crafted, like the ultra cool Steve Harrington (and still holding out hope that people will start listening to Joyce Byers already).
The Season 4 episodes of Stranger Things are Long. Like, really long.
Most of the Stranger Things episodes for Season 4 are going to be around 80 minutes, long by any counting measure. But as the show gets to the end of its 9-episode Season 4, things will really kick into overdrive. The final episode along is 2 hours and 30 minutes long. That's right—150 minutes. We'll be watching, so it better be good! The first 7 episodes will be released on May 27, and the final two will come on July 1. And then we're all on our own until the show's fifth and final season.
You can watch the first 8 minutes of Season 4 of Stranger Things right now.
In case you simply cannot wait, here you go:
First look photos for Stranger Things 4, Volume 1 are now available
As if battling a gigantic Mind Flayer in Starcourt Mall isn't terrifying enough, the new season of Stranger Things is set to be more terrifying. In an upcoming episode of the Present Company With Krista Smith podcast, the Duffer Brothers likens Season 4 to a “horror movie” due to the maturation of the core cast.
“When we pitched it to Netflix all those years ago, we pitched it as the kids are...The Goonies in E.T.,” Ross Duffer explained. “That’s their storyline. And the adults are in Jaws and Close Encounters and then the teens are in Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween. But, this year, we don’t have the kids. We can’t do The Goonies anymore. And so, suddenly, we’re leaning much harder into that horror movie territory that we love. It was fun to make that change.”
The first-look photos also give a peek into what is being introduced in the Stranger Things universe. We get our first look at Les Misérables actor Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson, head of Hawkins High’s official Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) club called The Hellfire Club. In one of the photos, he’s leading a D&D club meeting while reading from Advanced Dungeon & Dragons: Dungeon Master Screen, possibly hinting at an impending threat more advanced than anything they have ever faced. Since this season will have the characters scattered across four different locations—Russia, Creel House, the lab, and California— there will be rare pairings like Robin and Nancy looking terrified while visiting what appears to be some sort of prison.
While you wait for Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1 to debut on May 27, prepare yourself for the terror to come with these first-look photos:
There's a Stranger Things Season 4 Trailer and multiple teasers.
The longest trailer yet is narrated by a letter that Eleven is writing to Mike on day 185 (Of her being away? Of the year? In a row writing a letter? We don't know, really.) as she discusses adapting to a new life in California with Joyce, Will, and Jonathan Byers. The trailer, fittingly is set to "A Place in California," and we get a look at their new life; Jonathan, seemingly, is a stoner now and has the connection with a pizza guy (played by Booksmart's Eduardo Franco) who drives them all to school.
And school must be no fun (despite Eleven saying "I even like school now"), when kids are blowing spitballs at you, and you know you can make those mean kids' brains explode, like Eleven can. The rest of the trailer teases more of what we know we're getting: 80s goodness (including a roller rink!), a lot of action based around who the hell knows what, and, uh, maybe a This Is Spinal Tap reference with that close up shot of a knob turning (Does Season 4 go to 11?). But it looks like a good time.
At Netflix's huge TADUM event, another trailer was revealed. Mainly, a clip that opens a long time ago, with a family moving into a big colonial house called "Creel House." Quickly, we flash to the present, where Steve, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Robin are looking in the same house—clearly haunted in some way (come on, we know what we're getting into).
Maybe this is some sort of Haunting of Hill House style origin story? Or The Conjuring? There have been a lot of haunted house stories through the years, and it looks like that's the direction this is going. In flashbacks, most likely, given the house, the "Dream a Little Dream of Me" needle drop, and, well, everything else about that sequence.
Dustin quotes Sherlock Holmes: "The world is full of obvious things, which nobody by any chance ever observes." We then see a ticking grandfather clock in the attic, which bursts—when we then see an upside down version of the same thing. Spooky! But we still don't really know what's happening. 2022. It's coming.
A previous teaser hinted at further development for Eleven.
While the pandemic certainly slowed things down—and for a time, brought Stranger Things production to a halt—it's good to know that things have picked back up and remain on track. A previous teaser took gave a glimpse into what inside for Eleven this go-around. It seems like our psychic is getting into some troubles. The teaser shows an teenaged Eleven—sproting an hairstyle very similar to Joyce's— being held back from some goverment officials.
Now, if you're obessed with Stranger Things like we are, you'll notice that the first rease showed a facility with test subjects playing board games, some form of The Price Is Right's plinko, and washed out colors. A voiceover of Matthew Modine's Dr. Brenner (who, if you forget, is kind of a super evil Stranger Things version of X-Men's Professor Xavier?) leading a class, concludes with a shot of a door reading "11" and Brenner asking the question "Eleven, are you listening?" all while we hear heavier and heavier breathing from Eleven throughout. As the teaser concludes, we see her wake up in terror.
The two teasers don't reveal too much, but what thing they're telling us for sure? Season 4 is going for full horror. Now, that's not for anyone to be overly alarmed by; just because a show is going for the scariest mood possibly doesn't mean it's cutting out everything else. Stephen King's IT—one of the biggest influences of Stranger Things—is bone-chillingly scary, but also manages to include many great moments of humor and levity alongside the scares, just like Stranger Things. Things should largely feel the same, tonally.
But back to what we see in this clip. While past seasons have indicated that Dr. Brenner could, indeed, still be alive and lurking underground/in the shadows, this teaser is not direct confirmation of that; the imagery and ending of the teaser seem to signal Eleven having nightmares and traumatic memories of her past torment in such a facility. Still, though, this is Stranger Things—and she's likely having these dreams and visions for a reason. All the more to explore when Season 4 (or at least a full-length trailer) actually does arrive.
Check the teaser out below:
Most of the cast will be back for Stranger Things 4.
We can expect to see our favorite kids — Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Sadie —back in the fold for season 4. And even if Eleven and Will don't move back to Hawkins, we suspect that they'll be part of the storyline either way, but Joyce's future is a bit iffy right now.
However, one Stranger Things character we can expect not to see is Billy. He dies at the end of season three after being possessed by the Mind Flayer. But maybe flashbacks? Or something else? Dacre Montgomery was at the premiere of Season 4, so....
And Hopper is alive!
A surprise teaser with the caption "From Russia with love…", was released in February 2020, and the 50-second clip shows some prisoners working in a snow-covered Russian facility. The last prisoner seen is Hopper, although he's now bald and without his signature mustache.
Part of Stranger Things 4 will take place in another area outside of Hawkins.
The first promo for Stranger Things 4 featured a set of flashing images and a set of ominous words: "We're not in Hawkins anymore."
In early July 2019, the Duffer brothers spoke to Entertainment Weekly about season 4, and they said that the new season will "feel very different than this season [season three]."
Matt also added that, "The biggest thing that’s going to happen is it’s going to open up a little bit, not necessarily in terms of scale, in terms of special effects, but open up in terms of allowing plotlines into areas outside of Hawkins."
Season four's plot will also explore the cliffhanger at the end of season three—who is the American in the Russian prison??
The first episode of Season 4 was revealed a while ago.
Stranger Things 4 will start with an episode called "Chapter One: The Hellfire Club." The Duffer Brothers announced the title on November 6, which is Stranger Things Day.
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