It’s been nearly three long years since we last saw Eleven, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Steve, Will, Hopper, Nancy, Jonathan, Joyce, and any Stranger Things kids we’re forgetting (Maya Hawke’s character! The Russian Terminator guy!). The show that spent one season as a cool sci-fi/horror mystery and has since somehow exploded into Netflix’s flagship original series is finally—FINALLY—coming back for a fourth season in May.
When we last left season three, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) lost her powers thanks to the Mind Flayer. She leaves Hawkins along with the Byers after the apparent death of her father figure, Chief Hopper (David Harbour). But spoiler alert—he’s actually just somehow reached Russia. Today, after a lot of hype and anticipation, Netflix released a proper trailer for the upcoming season, giving us all a chance to reunite with our TV friends and the various Upside Down monsters they’ve encountered over the years.
It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, and Eleven and her buddies are mostly separated. She’s having difficulties making friends at her new school, but looks like Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) is now the popular jock. Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) sure look glum from the sidelines, huh? Meanwhile, Max (Sadie Sink) is mourning her brother’s death, and at one point is levitating in the trailer. That’s a potentially exciting update.
But this is Stranger Things, so of course, a brand new horrifying monster is lurking in the shadows. This one looks like the Night King, but even more zombified and with tentacles. And he’s determined to start a war in Hawkins. Eleven is pulled back into the “eye of the storm” along with everyone else.
The award-winning show’s ensemble also includes Winona Ryder, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Paul Reiser, and rightful fan-favorite Joe Keery. Robert Englund, best known for playing Freddy Krueger in The Nightmare On Elm Street franchise, has also joined the show.
Season four of Stranger Things will be split into two halves, with the first half premiering on Netflix on May 27. There isn’t much of a wait for the second half, though, with it coming to Netflix on July 1 (which cleverly incentivizes binge-watching!). Unfortunately, there won’t be that many episodes left after that. Netflix and series creators, the Duffer Brothers, have already announced that the show will end after one more final season. Season five will also most likely be split into two halves because Netflix likes to operate that way now.
The Duffers have teased that they’d like to do some spin-offs in the world of Stranger Things, but we probably won’t hear anything more about that until we get closer to the real finale.
Stranger Things season 4A will drop on May 27.