It’s always a good sign if fans are desperate for more from a franchise, and with the popularity of Stranger Things, it’s no real surprise that this is the case — now all the show has to do is deliver.
Three years have passed since the show’s season three finale, which saw our protagonists scattered in the aftermath of the battle in Starcourt Mall. The death of Bobby and the apparent demise of Jim Hopper left the remaining survivors shook. Eleven, now guardianless, as well as powerless, joins the Byers family as they moved to California, though the majority of the cast remained in Hawkins, Indiana. But little do they know that Hopper is alive and in a Russian prison facing off against beasts from the Upside Down.
Just that ending should inform fans as to how much bigger the show was set to become as it will now take place across multiple locations, splitting its time between the various storylines. Location is not the only thing the show is going bigger on, with the creators of the Netflix series telling IGN that this season is the most ambitious yet.
Executive producer Shawn Levy recalled discussing the plans for the next season and shared that the moment he read the outlines for Season 4, he sent a text to Matt and Ross Duffer, “You realize this is a behemoth?'”
The last season left a lot of questions unanswered, and while not all the mysteries will be resolved, Ross Duffer assured that we can expect some major questions to be finally answered.
“As we sat down to do [Season] 4, we knew that we had to start giving some of these big answers and the minute we started giving some of these big answers, it meant that the end had to inevitably be in sight. And so that’s what really led to us announcing that the fifth season was going to be the last.”
In fact, the drive to finally provide answers to the massive cliffhangers left by the previous season led the Duffer brothers to extend the running time of the episodes. Reportedly, the upcoming season, which is divided into two parts, is five hours longer than the previous seasons with some individual episodes having a movie-like duration.
“We really wanted to give as many of our characters as we could their time to shine and to really work on their character development and their arcs, and we’ve talked about this being a very revelatory season, in that there’s a lot of stuff that we want to tell the audience about and reveal in terms of the Upside Down and what is really happening here in Hawkins.”
Millie Bobby Brown also seconded the revelation and shared that the next chapter of the Netflix series will be “the season of explanations.” This season really starts to answer all of the questions you have about Eleven’s past and her storyline, which was needed, and has been executed beautifully,” she added.
Meanwhile, fans are busy tripping over the fact that they have little over a week to wait until the release of the first half of season four, which debuts on Netflix this May 27, followed by the second half on July 1.