The new Stranger Things season 4 trailer is darker than ever

The Stranger Things gang might be growing up, but they're certainly not going anywhere. After season one captured our Netflix-loving hearts, we were treated to season two, and most recently, a season three, which dropped summer 2019.

The good news is, if you've binge-watched every bit of Stranger Things content that currently exists, Netflix have revealed Stranger Things season 4 is officially happening. Here's everything you need to know about it, from confirmed release date, fan theories, plot lines and more. Exciting!

Do we have a Stranger Things season 4 trailer yet?

We certainly do. In fact, we've got multiple! What a treat. The latest one dropped in mid-April 2022, about a month before part one of the fourth series drops on Netflix. The trailer reveals we're about to find out more about Eleven and her backstory, and how Hawkins ended up being such a key part of the story.

We also discover Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, is key to ending the war with the Upside Down, and that despite a move to California, the Byers join forces with the old gang, while Hopper is trapped in an army base.

Netflix dropped two brand new trailers/teasers for Stranger Things season 4 on 6th November, and it's all very exciting.

The first trailer, titled 'Welcome to California' (watch above), shows Eleven "adapting" to life in a normal school while the characters prepare for spring break when chaos ensues - obviously.

The second video released is a Title Tease, showcasing the names of all the upcoming episodes, as well as the series' long-awaited release date.

Shared with the caption, "In the spring of 1986, the adventure continues," the clip reveals the fourth season's nine episode titles, which are as follows; 'The Hellfire Club', 'Vecna's Curse', 'The Monster and the Superhero', 'Dear Billy', 'The Nina Project', 'The Dive', 'The Massacre at Hawkins Lab', 'Papa', and 'The Piggyback'. Intriguing!

Netflix previously dropped the first trailer for season 4 on 6th May with the caption, "Eleven, are you listening?"

Do we have any Stranger Things season 4 teaser pics?

On 23 March 2022, Netflix released some static images from season four, giving us a good look at what our favourite characters might be up to. There's new haircuts, new pairings (LOVE the idea of Robin and Nancy working together) and, as usual, it's as dark and scary as ever:

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Do we have a Stranger Things season 4 release date?

FINALLY! We have an official release date from Netflix. Stranger Things 4, Volume 1 premieres on 27 May, while Stranger Things 4, Volume 2 premieres on 1 July, only on Netflix.

Sadly that does mean it's dropping in two parts (damn), but we're happy to see it back on our screens at least.

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Back in November, Netflix posted a new trailer for Stranger Things season 4 titled 'Welcome to California' (have a watch in the top spot or below). In the video, we see a Surfer Boy Pizza van with the phone number "805-45-PIZZA" printed on the side.

Going on to call the number, fans on Reddit have revealed that it actually leads to 'Happy Birthday' music. Viewers initially speculated that the song could be a reference to a season 3 episode which was supposed to be titled 'The Birthday'. However, others have pointed out that the birthday reference could point towards the day the show first came out: 15th July 2016.

So, given the show's birthday is on 15th July, fans thought this could also be the season 4 release date for 2022. Others also noted that 15th July 2022 is a Friday, with Netflix often releasing big shows on a Friday. Sadly, they were a little bit off - the good news is, it's coming before!

Netflix initially confirmed that Stranger Things would be returning to screens in 2022 during an ad-break promo in early August 2021. The streamer officially confirmed on September 30 2019 that we were getting a fourth series, with a cross-platform teaser trailer, but the trailer gave very little away, although it looks like we're not in Hawkins anymore. Exciting! Where are the gang going?

There was a 20-month gap between seasons 2 and 3 and, with the impact of coronavirus, season 4 will be coming more than two years after the last.

What have the cast said about Stranger Things season 4?

Speaking to Cosmopolitan UK, Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, touched on the best and worst things about filming the new season. "We were definitely saddened to have to wait to start shooting season 4, but at the same time, completely appreciated that it was necessary in order to ensure everyone’s safety because of the pandemic," she explained about the worst thing.

As for the best? "I feel lucky that we were able to go back to work when we did. The best thing about shooting this season is having the opportunity to return to this character I love so much. This is going to be a really exciting season for Eleven!"

Who will star in Stranger Things season 4?

On 10th June 2021, Netflix revealed there were four new characters joining the cast, with some unhelpfully placed upside down polaroids. They wrote, "New cast members incoming:

• Amybeth McNulty aka Vickie: a cool, fast talking band nerd who catches the eye of one of our beloved heroes.

• Myles Truitt aka Patrick: a Hawkins basketball star who has friends, talent, and a good life…until shocking events send his life spiraling out of control.

• Regina Ting Chen aka Ms. Kelly: a popular guidance counsellor who cares deeply for her students — especially those struggling the most.

• Grace Van Dien aka Chrissy: Hawkins’ High lead cheerleader and the most popular girl in school. But beneath the seemingly perfect surface lies a dark secret.

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We can also safely assume Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) and Noah Schnapp (Will) will be back at the centre of the story again.

Presumably Joe Keerey (Steve Harrington) and his beautiful, beautiful hair will also be back, alongside Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) and Winona Ryder (who plays Joyce). Plus Netflix has confirmed that Hopper (David Harbour) will be returning for season 4. Overjoyed.

On November 20, 2020, Netflix announced eight new cast members will be joining the new season - Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco and Joseph Quinn will all be playing regular roles. While Robert Englund, Sherman Augustus, Mason Dye, Nikola Djuricko and Tom Wlaschiha will be playing recurring roles. As for the characters they'll be playing:

Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Sweeney Todd) will play Peter Ballard, a caring man who works as an orderly at a psychiatric hospital. Tired of the brutality he witnesses day after day, will Peter finally take a stand?

Eduardo Franco (Booksmart, The Binge) will play Argyle, Jonathan’s new best friend, a fun-loving stoner who proudly delivers delicious pizza pies for Surfer Boy Pizza.

Joseph Quinn (Catherine the Great, Howards End) will play Eddie Munson, an audacious 80’s metalhead who runs The Hellfire Club, Hawkins High’s official D&D club. Hated by those who don’t understand him - and beloved by those who do - Eddie will find himself at the terrifying epicentre of this season’s mystery.

Sherman Augustus (Into the Badlands, Westworld) will play Lt. Colonel Sullivan. An intelligent, no-nonsense man who believes he knows how to stop the evil in Hawkins once and for all….

Mason Dye (Bosch, The Goldbergs) will play Jason Carver. Jason seemingly has it all - he’s handsome, he’s rich, he’s a sports star, and he’s dating the most popular girl in school. But as a new evil threatens Hawkins, Jason’s perfect world begins to unravel...

Nikola Djuricko (Genius, In The Land of Blood and Honey) will play Yuri, a seedy and unpredictable Russian smuggler who loves bad jokes, cold hard cash, and crunchy style peanut butter.

Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise, ‘V’ Television Series) will play Victor Creel, a disturbed and intimidating man who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for a gruesome murder in the 1950s.

Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones, Jack Ryan) will play Dmitri, a Russian prison guard who befriends Hopper. Dmitri is smart, cunning, and charming... but can he be trusted?

Also, the chances are we haven't seen the last of Eleven's sister Kali, played by Linnea Berthelsen. "It feels weird to me that we wouldn't solve [Kali's] storyline," Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter. "I would say chances are very high she comes back. [Millie Bobby Brown and Berthelsen] had, I think, a really powerful connection."

Speaking about her hopes for her character Robin in season 4, Maya Hawke told Consequence of Sound: "I wanna see her at the video store. So many of the great minds of the ‘80s and ‘80s filmmakers and creatives started out working in video stores, and as far as I know, that environment hasn’t really been explored on TV. I think that would be really fun."

Do we have any clues about Stranger Things season 4?

On 5th May 2021, Netflix dropped the first proper teaser for Stranger Things s4, and fans were pretty confused by the whole thing. Shared under the title 'HNL Control Room', the clip sees seven analogue TV screens arranged in a circle showing static noise with the occasional picture popping up.

Objects of note include footage from what appears to be a shopping mall, a blood spatter and a chessboard. The description reads, "Due to technical difficulties, Hawkins National Laboratory will be closed until further notice. We will be back in service tomorrow at 9:00AM ET." Eek.

More exciting news is that it looks like everyone's favourite character Billy (played by Dacre Montgomery) could be coming back for series 4 despite being killed off at the end of series 3.

The rumours began after Montgomery posted a picture of himself to Twitter which seemed like a massive hint that he might be returning to the show. The picture, which had no caption, showed Montgomery in what appeared to be full Billy costume, with his trademark long hair and moustache, wearing a vest-top and and what looks like Billy's necklace.

He then posted the same picture to his Instagram Story and tagged a Stranger Things make-up artist, which sent fans slightly wild. Maybe it's just a throwback, or maybe it's what we'd all been hoping for: the return of Billy. Fingers very firmly crossed.

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Plus, on Stranger Things Day (6 November 2019, aka the date in the first season when Will Byers disappeared into the Upside Down), Netflix revealed the first episode name of the new season.

"Join our club we have d&d," they wrote, alongside a photo of the episode script. Episode 401 (fourth series, first episode) is titled 'Chapter One: The Hellfire Club', and was written by The Duffer Brothers, who created Stranger Things. We're excited.

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On 14 October 2020, writers The Duffer Brothers also revealed two more episode titles, and fans have already been trying to dig for clues.

Episode two will be titled 'Tick Tok Mr Clock', while episode three is named 'You Snooze You Lose'. Posters for Stranger Things s4 seemingly revealed a grandfather clock would play a big part in the theme of the series, which is in line with the episode titles. Exciting!

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One person who seems keen to give away lots of details is David Harbour, who teased spoilers about the new series during an Instagram live, before getting completely shut down by Millie Bobby Brown.

Speaking to fans while dressed in full Hopper costumer Harbour said, "What's up, everybody? How's it going? I haven't done Instagram Live in a little while. I think I can only be here for like three and a half minutes because I think I have to go to set fairly soon.

"I'm here, shooting season four of our television show," he said. "I don't think I'm supposed to be showing you these things. Who wants to hear spoilers for season four? Let me just read directly from the script."

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But before he could reveal anything major, he spotted Millie watching the live and said, "Oh s--t! Millie! Oh, no. Millie, don't tell Netflix, don't tell Netflix that I'm doing Instagram Live from set. I'm just gonna read your sections of the script, Millie. I'm just gonna tell everybody what happens to Eleven this season."

Again, stopping him in his tracks Millie then joined the live and asked him what he was doing, before telling him, "Get off of Live and go back to work!"

Remind me, what happened in Stranger Things season 3?

If you need a recap from Stranger Things season 3, you're in luck. The series was set in the height of summer 1985 - think swimming pools, shopping malls and sunbathing. It's all fun and games until the inhabitants of Hawkins are faced with the giant spider-goo creation birthed out of the Mind Flayer, who attacks Eleven, Joyce, Hopper, Murray and the gang while they're at Starcourt mall.

The final scenes see them fighting off the monster controlled by the Mind Flayer, with everyone from Nancy and Jonathan to Dustin's actually-real girlfriend Suzie having to play their part. There were some casualties along the way, though - Billy sacrifices himself to save Eleven, while viewers were left speculating about Hopper's fate at the Russian facility after he disappeared in the final episode and left Eleven a very emotional note. But after months of concern, Netflix has finally confirmed that Hopper will be back for series 4.

After they successfully see off the monster, Stranger Things season 3 flashes forward three months. Eleven is living with Joyce and The Byers, and her powers have still not returned following the fight. Agh!

Millie Bobby-Brown was "really against" the Stranger Things season 3 ending. In an interview with ELLE, Brown admitted that she was less than impressed with the season three finale, namely because she hadn't yet made sense of one of the plot twists.

"I was p*ssed," she commented. "I read the script and I was like, 'What, how is this even possible? Why are they moving away?' They were like 'Didn’t you read episode 3?' And I was like, 'Oh yeah'. …Because Joyce said she wanted to move away from Hawkins. I don’t know, I just felt really against it.’

The actress also revealed that she and her co-stars shed real tears when they filmed the finale scene of Eleven and Will leaving Hawkins.

"We all started crying and then they rolled camera and said action," she explained. "And that was it. We all started saying goodbye to each other. We felt too real."

When did Stranger Things season 4 start filming?

Stranger Things filming was put on hold in March 2020 due to coronavirus. However, as of 1st October 2020, production officially resumed! Netflix tweeted the news by posting a photo of a clapperboard along with the caption, “Today in Hawkins…”

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What might happen in Stranger Things season 4?

Now this we can only speculate about. What do the fan theories say?

The return of Hopper... It didn't look good for Hopper at the end of series 3, plus there was the note he left to Eleven, which suggested he wouldn't be coming back. But at the very end of series 3, we hear the Russian men talking about "the American", before the camera pans to an underground cell with a big steel door. Fans thought this meant that Hopper had either been killed by the Russian men, or that he was in the cell. Some fans are wondering whether Hopper actually entered the Upside Down before it closed, which might explain why season 4 won't be set in Hawkins, given that Hopper is set to return for season 4.

Where is the Demogorgon? Matt Duffer teased Hopper's survival - as well as a focus on the Demogorgon - in season 4, in a new interview with EW. "Assuming there’s a season 4, obviously the question of who that American is in that cell and then also what they’re doing with the Demogorgon, is a tease…That’s obviously going to play a huge role in a potential season four."

Could Eleven turn bad in Stranger Things season 4? Millie Bobby-Brown responded to a convincing fan theory that Eleven turns evil in the next series, and it sounds like she could potentially be on board. The theory, which was put to her by Elle, suggests Eleven has been infected by the Mind Flayer after a part of its flesh got stuck on her leg, meaning her character has been turned to the dark side.

"I kind of like it!" Millie said on hearing the theory. "I’m into it. I wasn’t playing it like that. We don’t know what happens in season four. I definitely don’t. In scenes after the Mind Flayer grabbed me, I wasn’t playing it as I was infected. I was definitely playing it as normal as possible. And maybe that’s the reason they didn’t tell me. To make it as real as possible. I don’t know."

Speaking about fan theories in general, Millie added, "Those theories freak me out a bit. Because I’m like, 'Oh god, that could genuinely be true.' And what if she is the villain? That would be so cool. Wouldn’t that be cool? I’d love to be the villain, but then I also wouldn’t because Eleven is perfect. It would suck.’

Will Eleven get her powers back? Or is she just a normal human now? Watch this space, basically, because anything could happen.

So many things we need to know.

Stranger Things season 4 is released in May on Netflix.

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