Stranger Things Season 4 Release Date, Teaser Trailer, Cast

Laelia Yang May 09, 2021 | 01:27

It has been nearly two years since Season 3 debuted on Netflix and fans of Stranger Things see the first official look released at Stranger Things season 4. Which hints are the cast and crew dropping? Here's everything we know about the upcoming season.

Stranger Things 4. Photo: comingsoon

Stranger Things addressed a fan theory about when season 4 will finally release. It's been almost two years since the beloved Netflix series streamed new episodes and there's still no word on the official premiere date. While production on season 4 began in 2020, it wasn't long before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the cast and crew. Of course, delays haven't hindered Netflix from turning the fandom upside down with teases.

After months of the cast being prodded for answers, Netflix surprised fans with a brand new Stranger Things season 4 teaser video. The promo could've just as easily served for an early season of the Duffer Brother's iconic tale. Set in the Hawkins Lab where Eleven and her siblings were experimented on, the trailer seems to be a flashback. The notorious Dr. Brenner's vindictive voice can be heard asking: "Eleven, are you listening?" The only glimpse at any familiar faces flashes at the end when Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) opens her eyes. Mere moments after sharing the trailer, heaps of postulating fans had whipped up intricate theories.

Stranger Things season 4 latest news

A second teaser trailer flashes back to Eleven's childhood training with Dr. Brenner.
New set photos have leaked, showing military vehicles at Hawkins High School.
Netflix didn't mention Stranger Things season 4 as one of its big remaining 2021 shows

Season 4 is currently filming.

The new season had only been shooting for a month when Netflix shut down production in March 2020.

“I was having phone calls with Netflix while directing takes and blocking scenes,” executive producer and director Shawn Levy told IndieWire last year. “We shared the news with our cast and crew that we would be pausing production out of an abundance of caution. There were no sick crew members, no one was exhibiting symptoms, but it seemed like the right thing to do.” Newsweek reports filming had taken place in Lithuania in early 2020, most likely for Russia-set scenes featuring Hopper.

On June 18, 2020, the Stranger Things writers’ account announced they had finished writing the entire season, and on September 28, 2020, Newsweek reported production had resumed in Georgia.

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Matarazzo has been candid about the oddity of filming mid-pandemic. “There’s very few dates that are reliable,” the actor told Collider in late March 2021. “It really is more of a guesstimation on when we’re gonna be filming next, when we’re gonna be wrapping up, when release is gonna be, all that jazz because we still don’t know on day-to-day if we’re gonna be filming next week." Elle cited.

When will Stranger Things season 4 be released?

In an Instagram Live, David Harbour revealed that Stranger Things 4 was scheduled to be released in early 2021. However, due to the delay in production following the coronavirus outbreak, the release date will likely be mid-to-late 2021.

The cast and crew began shooting Stranger Things 4 in March 2020 before production was suspended. Filming slowly resumed at the end of September 2020.

According to TV Line, filming was scheduled to wrap sometime around August with a potential December 2020/January 2021 release date on the cards. For reference, season 3 began shooting in April 2018, wrapped in November 2018 and aired in July 2019.

How many episodes will be in Stranger Things season 4?

Photo: cuongphim

The amount of episodes in the season all depends on how much story the Duffer Brothers have to tell. Season 1 had 8 episodes, season 2 had 9 episodes and season 3 went back to 8 episodes.

TV Line has reported that there is rumoured to be 9 episodes in season 4, making it the same length as season 2. That's unconfirmed so far but you can probably expect a minimum of 8 episodes. In the pile of finished scripts shared by the writer's room on Twitter, it appears as though there is 9 episode scripts.

Stranger Things 4 episode names

So far, only one episode title has been confirmed by the writers on Twitter.

Episode 1 will be called 'Chapter One: The Hellfire Club'. (The Hellfire Club is the name of Hawkins High's D&D club.) Popbuzz noted.

Stranger Things season 4: Hopper is alive

Yep, as the season 4 teaser above revealed, Detective Jim Hopper survived the events of season 3's finale. His fate was unknown after he convinced Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) to cause the Russians' machine - which opened a gate to the Upside Down - to self-destruct, despite Hopper being trapped inside.

However, fans had speculated that Hopper hadn't died in the blast. At the end of season 3, when Russian soldiers said "the American" should not be the victim fed to a captive Demogorgon in a mid-credits teaser, fans thought they knew who the soldiers were referring to. It could only be one man: Jim Hopper, and the season 4 teaser confirmed as much.

Along with the trailer above, which sheds light on where Hopper ended up after the ending of the last season, the Duffer brothers issued a statement on what's happened to the character back in February 2020. They said they were "excited to officially confirm that production on Stranger Things 4 is now underway – and even more excited to announce the return of Hopper!"

"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. Meanwhile, back in the States, a new horror is beginning to surface, something long buried, something that connects everything…"

"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."

We don't know much else about what Hopper will be doing as part of his imprisonment, but Harbour is still filming his parts for season 4. Recently, the actor went live on Instagram in his season 4 costume - an outfit fans already saw in the season 4 teaser trailer. While Harbour didn't give anything away, he did FaceTime Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), and the duo briefly confirmed that they were currently filming, or had filmed, in Atlanta, Techradar wrote.

Stranger Things Season 4 Cast

Photo:saostar

It’s no secret that Stranger Things‘ most potent weapon is its cast. It’s fair to assume that all surviving characters will be back in season 4, which means roles for: Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Noah Schnapp, and Sadie Sink. Recurring actors and new additions like Priah Ferguson, Maya Hawke, and maybe even Cary Elwes could return as well.

One actor who will be upped to a regular role for the new season is Brett Gelman. His character, Murray Bauman, a journalist-turned-conspiracy theorist, played a major role in the last two seasons and will continue to do so in Stranger Things season 4.

And as you might have guessed, there’s no way there will be a Stranger Things season without David Harbour! Based on the Stranger Things season 3 post-credits scene,and the first teaser (which you can view below) we know that Harbour will return with the rest of the cast as well.

Harbour also confirmed as much in an interview with Total Film, comparing his character’s resurrection to Gandalf’s:

“I’ve had those discussions [about Hopper’s resurrection] with them from the very first season. We were always interested in that idea of the Gandalf resurrection – Gandalf the Grey who fights the Balrog and then becomes Gandalf the White. It’s the idea of the resurrection of the character. And mythologically, Hopper, in a sense, had to change. I mean, you couldn’t go on the way he was going on. He has to resurrect in some way. So, it was a great opportunity to do that. So, we’ll see a very different guy going forwards. The same guy but in a different vein. It’s a very cool thing to be able to play.” Denofgeek reported.

Stranger Things season 4 plot: What will happen in season 4?

While the Duffer Brothers have given very little away about the upcoming series, the Stranger Things writers have been teasing a few (potentially jokey) details via their Twitter account including what might be a few of the season four episode titles.

When fans asked the account for any teasers as to what episodes two and three are titled, the writers responded: “Tick Tok Mr Clock” and “You Snooze You Lose” respectively However, they later tweeted what seemed to be a confirmation that the titles were just jokes to tease fans, writing: “Episode 4: Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey,” before the writers added: “This is called hilarious comedy.”

We know for certain that one of the episodes is named ‘The Hellfire Club’ – which the Stranger Things Twitter account teased in November, with a shot of the script and a picture of Gaten Matarazzo in a Hellfire Club T-shirt. While this points towards Dustin and the other kids joining something called the Hellfire Club, what exactly is the club and what does it stand for?

As well as tying up loose ends, a fourth run could open up new possibilities for the show: for instance, to accommodate the show’s quickly-ageing young cast, could Stranger Things four be set several years after season three?

This would fit with comments made by Gaten Matarazzo, who told Entertainment Weekly that the Duffer brothers use the ageing cast as “ammunition” for their writing.

Matarazzo said: “When it comes to the tone of the season, it’s definitely, I think the tone is definitely matured for sure, and I think they do that on purpose because I think they want their show to mature with their kids.

“As we are growing older as people, we have to grow older as characters. They’re confronted by this issue, but they embrace it, and they use it to their advantage.”In February 2020, TVLine‘s Michael Ausiello reported that season four could consist of 9 episodes, one more than initially planned. He also said that a “fan-favourite character may have his/her origin story told in one (or more) of those nine episodes.”

This “fan-favourite” is likely to be Hopper, after David Harbour promised fans at Liverpool Comic Con in March a “big, huge reveal” about his character’s backstory in the upcoming season. Harbour added that it’s his “favourite thing” about Hopper that fans are yet to find out about him, but it’s related to the three boxes found by Eleven in Hopper’s attic which are labelled ‘Dad’, ‘Vietnam’ and ‘New York’.

What’s more, apparently the Stranger Things season four is set to be the scariest so far – according to Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington. The actor told Total Film, “I think that this year — and I know I say this every single year — but this is definitely going to be a lot scarier than prior years, because last year was pretty dark.”

While the Stranger Things team have given little away in terms of the upcoming season’s plot, its spin-off comic book may have recently teased a potential storyline involving Steve (Joe Keery), Robin (Maya Hawke), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Erica (Priah Ferguson).

In the comic, Erica starts selling green acid she smuggled out of the Russian lab at the end of season three, forcing the other three to intervene before she gets herself into trouble. While the plot doesn’t seem particularly dramatic for the small screen, hopefully, it’s suggesting that we’re going to see more of the fan-favourite foursome in season four.

In terms of theories for season four, we don’t know much about newcomer Robin’s background, so she could be a good bet for further exploration. Or perhaps we’ll find out how former journalist turned private investigator Murray Bauman (Brett Gelman) became the bunker-living, vodka-drinking and Russian-speaking sleuth he is today. (This seems especially likely now that Gelman has been upped to series regular.) Radio Times wrote.

Stranger Things season 4 trailer: When can I watch it?

Photo: whats-on-netflix

You can watch it right here, amigos! Did we say "it"? We meant them!

Netflix released its latest teaser trailer on May 6.

In the clip, we're taken to the laboratory where Dr Brenner performed his experiments on children, last seen in flashbacks in seasons one and two. A sinister clock ticks in the background; kids chase toy cars around a rainbow track (remember the rainbow room from season two?); someone's playing chess; a ball tumbles through pins on a pegboard; a Magic Eight Ball says 'signs point to yes'; there's some spooky child laughter; toy bricks; everything's very echoey and lit in the institutional greeny-grey we've come to expect of bad experimental government agencies. The kids all have shaved heads and hospital gowns like Eleven used to in series one.

We're clearly back in time, because we see Dr Martin Brenner (from behind, but we would know that grey bouffant anywhere) stalking the corridors, and as Matthew Modine's voice tells the children that, "We have something very special planned for you today", the camera zooms ominously in on a door marked '11'. The trailer ends with the voiceover saying, "Eleven? Are you listening?" and young Eleven's eyes suddenly open wide in shock.

BAM! Well we can't speak for everyone else but we're very excited.

The trailer came on top of a teaser that dropped on the Stranger Things YouTube account the day before called "HNL Control Room", which features seven TV screens (given the title, presumably in the Hawkins National Laboratory control room) flickering on and off, with scenes apparently from the "school" – there's the chessboard, for example, and the eight ball – but there are bloodstains on all of them. And an opera aria playing over the top, in a not-at-all creepy way.

In true Stranger Things style, the show's social accounts have also been sharing a number of enigmatic posts which could mean something, but might not mean anything at all.

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Expect plenty more where that came from in the coming months, Digitalspy reported.

Stranger Things season 4: Dustin & Steve spin-off?

Stranger Things' star Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) has been doing a lot of interviews lately, and just handed out some free ideas for Netflix. While talking with Entertainment Tonight (via Metro), he said "‘I think a Dustin-Steve spinoff would be good if it were in a weird niche format. Like, they didn’t do a full show of it, ... Like a WandaVision type thing or a web series type thing where on YouTube, there’s weekly episodes of little hijinks they get into, like every now and again, like a skit show. That’d be great."

Matarazzo also told Collider, when asked about the release date of the series, that "we still don’t know on day-to-day if we’re gonna be filming next week. ... there’s really no way to figure out when we’re gonna be wrapping." Which doesn't give us high hopes for a 2021 release.

He also noted that the Duffer Brothers (the series showrunners) have already finished the script — and aren't writing it as they go. Specifically, "This year, because of COVID, there’s no excuse for them not to have the [season] written completely," as "COVID hit and we only had like six episodes and so they were like, 'we might as well finish.'"

Matarazzo said that this allows the showrunners to "relish in directing in their day-to-day. There’s nothing else distracting them other than what we’re gonna do today while we’re directing ... now they can take their focus off of what the show is going to be about, and now that they know it, they can focus on how they’re going to deliver. And I think it shows."

Oh and speaking of scary, Matarazzo told Entertainment Tonight that Stranger Things is venturing into the most frightening area of all: adulthood. The kids are no longer just kids!

"When it comes to the tone of the season, it's definitely, I think the tone is definitely matured for sure, and I think they do that on purpose because I think they want their show to mature with their kids. As we are growing older as people, we have to grow older as characters," he explained.

"They're confronted by this issue, but they embrace it, and they use it to their advantage. And they don't freak out when we get taller or when our voices drop or anything like that. They use it and they use it as ammunition for their writing. It's incredible what they can do. Working with them, it's just exceptional. Always has been." Matarazzo also spoke with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, telling him that Stranger Things season 4 may be the "scariest" season so far, before saying "I was reading it and I'm like, 'They're going for it this year, that's pretty cool!'" according to Toms Guide.

Will Stranger Things season 4 be in 4K / HDR?

Photo: looper

If you're interested in Stranger Things' good looks as well – as you should be – you may be wondering what video formats the next season will be filmed in.

All three seasons so far have been filmed in 4K Ultra HD resolution, meaning anyone with a 4K TV and a strong enough internet connection will be able to watch in a huge amount of detail. Seasons 2-3 are also in HDR (high dynamic range), meaning an expanded range of colors and enhanced contrast – important for a show awash with bright colors, dazzling neon, and moody skies – though again you'll need an HDR-compatible screen to make the most of it.

Netflix also uses the Dolby Vision HDR format, rather than the competing HDR10+ standard – we know this is a lot to think about with your next TV, but some only support one format over the other.

Will season 4 be the final season of Stranger Things?

The show is likely to continue for longer than the originally planned four season-run, according to Vulture. Producer Shawn Levy later told EW that enthusiasm from Netflix and the show’s fans may well have convinced them to go on until at least a fifth year.

“The truth is we’re definitely going four seasons and there’s very much the possibility of a fifth,” Levy said. “Beyond that, it becomes I think very unlikely.”

The creators echoed these statements when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in August, saying that season four “won’t be the end”.

“We know what the end is, and we know when it is,” Ross Duffer said. “[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. We’ve had a lot more time to work on the scripts,” he added. “For the first time, we have all the scripts written and we’re able to look at it as a whole piece and make adjustments.”

However, if season four is not the last hurrah, the end seems very much in sight. Series star Gaten Matarazzo also told Entertainment Weekly that although the Duffer brothers are usually happy to play things by ear, they have the end very much laid out.

“I heard from them that they have a pretty clear idea as to where they want to wrap the show up,” Matarazzo told EW. “And I think they have a completely clear outline as to how they want their show to end.”