Overview
Since Netflix dropped the third season of Stranger Things way back in mid-2019, fans of the 80s-set sci-fi/horror series have been left with plenty of questions. Some were answered relatively quickly, with Jim Hopper's (David Harbour, Black Widow) immediate fate covered in an early teaser back in February 2020. Other queries took a while to answer, with the streamer only revealing an exact release date for the show's fourth season in February this year. But here's one train of thought that's been going through absolutely no one's minds until now: do they play guitar in the Upside Down?
Arriving after a heap of shorter sneak peeks over the past year or so — with a couple more teasers released in May 2021, then another one in August, followed by yet another in September and one more last November — the full trailer for Stranger Things season four resolves that axe-shredding question. The answer: a wailing yes. But if you're now wondering the obvious — aka why? — you'll need to wait till the show's first new episodes arrive on Friday, May 27, or maybe even until its second batch of season four instalments hit on Friday, July 1.
Also covered in this long-waited return trip to Hawkins: mysterious packages, an angry Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, Godzilla vs Kong) setting off sparks, a new D&D club and a levitating Max (Sadie Sink, The Last Castle). Oh, and a new monster who looks like it should've crawled out of The X-Files.
And yes, the vibe here is all old-school horror — which is hardly surprising given that one of those past teaser trailers had Steve (Joe Keery, Spree), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo, The Angry Birds Movie 2), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, Concrete Cowboy) and Max exploring an eerie haunted house.
Across the clips so far, viewers have also been taken to California, which is where Eleven, Joyce (Winona Ryder, The Plot Against America), Will (Noah Schnapp, Waiting for Anya) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton, The New Mutants) have washed up following season three. Eleven is settling in as well as she can settle in anywhere, as she explains in a letter to Mike (Finn Wolfhard, The Goldfinch) — but she also can't wait until she can see him in person again.
And, we've headed back to Hawkins Laboratory and its whole creepy setup, too. So, piece all these trailers together and Netflix has dropped plenty of clues about what's in store — but facing a new supernatural threat and trying to put an end to the Upside Down's horrors is the gang's main aim in season four.
If it feels like series' creators Matt and Ross Duffer are working on their endgame, that's unsurprising. The pair announced a few months back that there'll only be one more season to follow after season four. But, this season has "a runtime of nearly twice the length of any previous seasons," the Duffer brothers also advised. It certainly has a whole heap of trailers, and the full sneak-peek clocks in at over three minutes.
May 27 can't come soon enough — but until then, you can check out the Stranger Things season four trailer below:
Stranger Things season four will be able to stream via Netflix in two parts, with Volume One dropping on Friday, May 27 and Volume Two hitting on Friday, July 1.
Images: courtesy of Netflix.