The fourth season of Stranger Things is finally on the horizon, nearly three years after Season 3 debuted back in 2019. Netflix previously released small teasers and previews with glimpses of what’s to come after the Byers family left Hawkins, Hopper was captured by the Soviets, and the gate was seemingly closed for good. Now, the full Season 4 trailer has finally released, and it delivers some strange new powers, some very familiar faces, and a terrifying new villain with “war” on the way. Check it out above.
“See you on the other side” indeed! Fans may need to rethink some of what we thought we knew about Season 4 after watching this trailer. Netflix made up for the months without any new content by packing a whole lot into three minutes. It delivers some answers about what’s on the way – Dr. Owens is returning, the Byers were relocated to California by the government, how Max is dealing with Billy’s death, scenes of Eleven at the lab, and characters are returning to the Upside Down, to name just some.
But there are even more new questions than there are answers, not the least of which concern the person who is playing electric guitar on top of a toppled truck in the Upside Down, which I have to imagine is a dream sequence or vision of some sort.
Plus, the entity that seems to be the new villain appears at the end of the trailer, and he's certainly terrifying if he’s truly part of the Upside Down chaos that looks to be brewing. He appears to be a different kind of baddie than has emerged from the other side before, however, if we look back at the original Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer. He's definitely more humanoid than anything else that has come out of that dimension.
Then there’s the matter of what has happened to Max over the time jump since Billy’s death! Season 3 didn’t end with any clues that she had any secret powers of her own, but the trailer shows her seemingly having a vision of the creepy clock in the school hallway, and she’s floating over Billy’s grave in a later shot. At least it seems like Lucas’ life was going well for a while, if the shot of him smiling on the basketball court is any indication.
It’s not clear whether this trailer is for just the first round of episodes that will be released in May, or for the full nine episodes of Season 4. There appear to be four major storylines on the way, if we go by the posters that Netflix released, and Season 5 will be the last for Stranger Things, so it’s not surprising that all signs point toward the show going bigger and more bonkers than ever for Season 4.
For now, fans may have to satisfy themselves with watching and rewatching the first three seasons with a Netflix subscription. Volume 1 of Season 4 will premiere on Friday, May 27. Volume 2 will be available on Friday, July 1, which is just a few days shy of the three-year anniversary since Season 3 released.
