Gather the Hellfire Club! While the coronavirus outbreak delayed Stranger Things’ season 4 premiere, the anticipation is palpable — and it’s all coming together!

“I think most would probably say it’s the scariest [season] out of the previous three, which I love because it’s very fun to film,” Dustin Henderson’s Gaten Matarazzo told Us Weekly exclusively in January 2021.

The popular Netflix series is set in the 1980s in Hawkins, Indiana, and explores many mysterious happenings that occur in the town. Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and others star in the programme.

Also read: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4: All you need to know

One of the major questions after the season 3 conclusion, which aired in July 2019, was if Jim Hopper (Harbour) was genuinely dead. The answer was revealed in the first season 4 teaser, which was released in February 2020 and showed Hopper in Russia after he appeared to vanish in a mystery contraption.

Matarazzo told Us magazine that he is not surprised that Hopper’s story will continue.

“I guess most of the cast had a pretty good idea that he might be making a return, but they weren’t too sure about it from the beginning,” the actor said in January 2021. “By the time we had gotten to the table read [and] we had all started reading together, it had been pretty clear. But it was great to have it confirmed when we saw David there.”

Following the release of the sneak peek, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer provided a more in-depth explanation regarding Hopper’s beliefs.

“We’re excited to officially confirm that production on Stranger Things 4 is now underway — and even more excited to announce the return of Hopper,” in a statement at the time, the Duffer brothers revealed. “Although it’s not all good news for our ‘American’; he is imprisoned far from home in the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, where he will face dangers both human … and other.”

Also read: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4: Who is Victor Creel?

The creators continued to tease the unexpected twists and turns that the fourth season would bring.

“Meanwhile, back in the states, a new horror is beginning to surface, something long-buried, something that connects everything,” they added. “Season 4 is shaping up to be the biggest and most frightening season yet, and we cannot wait for everyone to see more. In the meantime, pray for the American.”

In terms of whether viewers should prepare to say farewell to the series, which debuted in 2016, it appears that there is still more of the tale to be told.

“We know what the end is, and we know when it is,” in August 2020, Ross told The Hollywood Reporter. “[The pandemic] has given us time to look ahead, figure out what is best for the show. Starting to fill that out gave us a better idea of how long we need to tell that story.”

Scary for kids

Several cast members revealed in May 2022 that they were concerned about how some of the season 4 content will be accepted by fans.

“I thought they’d have to tone it down,” Joseph Quinn, who portrays newbie Eddie, spoke to E! News about the plot threads. “I didn’t think they would commit to how gruesome it was on the page. But clearly they don’t care about young kids at all.”

Joe Keery also addressed the show’s darker tone, saying, “Kids will be scared. Kids will have nightmares. If I was a kid and I watching this, it would be disturbing.”

Even though the performers did not elaborate, Maya Hawke stated that “the bone breaking” was not her favourite part of the upcoming season.

Stranger Things’ upcoming season appears to be darker than ever in photos released by Netflix in March 2022.

Fans get a first look at the Creel House, Robin and Nancy’s unexpected friendship, Joyce and Murray’s search for Hopper, and much more.

Pasts explained

The first season 4 trailer, titled “From Russia With Love,” gave viewers a glimpse of where Hopper ended up. The former Hawkins police chief, who returned with a shorn head, appeared to be trapped in snowy Russia.

Also read: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4: Makers reveal what’s in store 

During an appearance at 2019’s Liverpool Comic Con, Harbour previously stated that there would be “a big, huge reveal about Hopper’s backstory,” and that season 4 would be “definitely going to be a lot scarier than prior years.”

In November 2020, Deadline disclosed a few new cast members for the fourth season, including Robert Englund, who would play Victor Creel, a disturbed and imposing man imprisoned in a psychiatric ward for a heinous murder in the 1950s.

Peter Ballard, a compassionate man who works as an orderly at a psychiatric institution, was played by Jamie Campbell Bower.

New cast, old regulars

Argyle, played by Eduardo Franco, will become Jonathan Byers’ (Charlie Heaton) new best friend. “A fun-loving stoner who proudly delivers delicious pizza pies for Surfer Boy Pizza,” the character is described.

Little is known about Hawkins High’s official D&D club leader, Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn), although the guy could be crucial to uncovering the season’s riddles.

Sherman Augustus, Mason Dye, and Nikola Djuricko are among the new cast members.

Netflix stated in February 2020 that Erica Sinclair, Lucas’ younger sister, will return in a dramatic way. Priah Ferguson has been promoted to series regular.

Netflix announced even more new cast members for the upcoming season in June 2021, including Amybeth McNulty, Myles Truitt, Regina Ting Chen, and Grace Van Dien.

Joe Keery and producer Shawn Levy teased what fans can expect as season 4 filming nears completion.

Also read: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 opening sequence reveals Eleven’s insanity | Watch

Keery, who had previously completed filming for Steve Harrington’s portions, remarked that it will “be worth the wait.”

Season 4 will be broken into two parts, according to Netflix. Volume 1 will be released on May 27th, followed by Volume 2 on July 1st.

Stranger Things’ creators have also stated that season 5 will be the final season.

First impressions

During TUDUM: A Netflix Global Fan Event in September 2021, Netflix released a roughly 2-minute teaser clip. A family of four moves into a Victorian-era home while the song “Dream A Little Dream of Me” plays in the background. Following some strange incidents, the video cuts to the 1980s, where Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Caleb McLaughlin, and Sadie Sink are hunting for clues.

“We just finished shooting, and it was day 300,” Wolfhard stated this on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October 2021. “I’m so glad [the creators] still care. The show’s going to be really messed up.”

The actor also teased that fans will find out what happened to Hopper and remained tight-lipped when asked about Mike and Eleven possibly reconnecting. When asked if Eleven may regain her powers, Wolfhard just said, “Oh,” before adding, “Well, uh.”

Stranger Things collaborated with Walmart in October 2021 to sell special season 4 items, giving fans a sneak peak at what’s to come on the Netflix series. According to Collider, the store is selling a tape player that includes a “exclusive voicemail left by a mysterious character.”

Also read: ‘Stranger Things’ to end after fifth season, creators tease spinoffs

On “Stranger Things Day” in November 2021, Netflix released a new teaser for the upcoming season. Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven appears in the brief film, having adjusted to her new school just in time for spring break. “We will have the best spring break ever,” she said before a dramatic montage of rollerskating, police chases, and explosions played out on screen.

Episodes

On Twitter, the Netflix series teased numerous episode titles:

“The Hellfire Club” 

“Vecna’s Curse” 

“The Monster and The Superhero” 

“Dear Billy”

“The Nina Project”

“The Dive”

“The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”

“Papa”

“The Piggyback”

A possible comeback

Despite sacrificing himself to assist his sister, Max (Sadie Sink), and the rest of the gang in season 3, fans began to wonder if Dacre Montgomery’s character, Billy Hargrove, would make a return during season 4. “Dear Billy” is the title of a forthcoming episode.

Sink teased major changes for the characters in Season 4, telling Elle in November 2021, “I’m really happy with where Max’s storyline went. … I think you see a different side of her that I’m really excited to share with everyone.”

Also read: David Harbour shares more information on Stranger Things Season 4

The war in Hawkins

The first trailer for season 4 was released by Netflix in April 2022, and it appears that the Hawkins gang will need to start preparing for conflict. “A war is coming. Your friends in Hawkins are very much in the eye of a storm, “At one point, Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser) tells Eleven. “I don’t know how to say this other than just to say it — without you, we can’t win this war.” The trailer also reveals an Upside Down monster, who appears to be a hybrid Demogorgon and says menacingly at the end, “You have lost.” Meanwhile, Hopper is being held in a Russian labour camp, determined to assist in any way he can.

In addition to the supernatural perils, the group will have to cross the perilous terrain of high school. Eleven and Will are in California, but the rest of their friends in Indiana are starting to drift away. Meanwhile, Max is suffering with the loss of her brother Billy, as well as the apparent emergence of new abilities. With all of that in store, it’s no surprise that the streaming service opted to split Season 4 into two parts.

Older and wiser

The Duffer brothers aren’t shying away from putting their characters in harsher situations now that the cast is older. “We thought that this was a good year to put them in a full-fledged Nightmare on Elm Street-esque horror film,” Ross explained to Entertainment Weekly in April 2022.

The duo also alluded to Game of Thrones, both because the action in Season 4 is more intense and the show’s geographical scope has expanded significantly. “You get to see Eleven in the darkest state she’s ever been,” Brown remarked of her arc. “This has definitely been the hardest season I’ve ever filmed. There have been some of the scariest, scariest things that I’ve ever seen as a human, which you guys will get to see, for sure.”

On April 27, the official Stranger Things Instagram account Brown uploaded a new poster for season 4.

Also read: Stranger Things Season 4: Meet the new cast members

The poster depicts the Hawkins Laboratory environment beneath a younger-looking Eleven, presumably implying that season 4 will go back in time to cover the telekinetic’s terrible past.

Beginning of the end

Brown announced on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in May 2022 that the final episodes would have “lots of answers, lots of crying, lots of laughing.”

She went on to say, “It’s the beginning of the end. We really have to dig deep into [Eleven’s] beginning and how she became who she is with the people around her, and how to gain that autonomy and become this woman on her own. So this storyline this season really digs into that.”

The first eight minutes of the season premiere in May 2022 were released by the show’s official Twitter account, along with the episode distribution strategy. The first seven episodes will be released on May 27, 2022, with the remaining two delayed until July 1, 2022.