Netflix released the first official trailer for Stranger Things Season 4.
Season 4's trailer opens six months after the events of Season 3, with the kids separated for the first time. As the Byers family tries to adjust to their new life after relocating to California, the rest of the Hawkins kids deal with the aftermath of the Battle of Starcourt in their hometown. The trailer also teases a terrifying new supernatural threat that will lead the kids further into the Upside Down and directly into "the eye of the storm."
As Stranger Things expands into its fourth season, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer compared the upcoming installment to HBO's Game of Thrones in terms of scope. "Joyce and the Byers family have left at the end of Season 3," Matt Duffer said in a previous interview. "They are in California – we've always wanted to have that like E.T.-esque suburb aesthetic, which we finally got to do this year in the desert; and then we have Hopper in Russia; and then of course we have a group remaining in Hawkins. So we have these three storylines, are all connected and kind of interwoven together, but it’s just very different tones
Stranger Things 4 is expected to be longer than previous seasons and will be split into two parts, Volume 1 and Volume 2. Since the third season was released in 2019, the Duffer brothers explained that the cast members growing older allowed the series to lean further into its horror elements.
"When we pitched it to Netflix all those years ago, we pitched it as the kids are... The Gooniesin E.T.," said Ross Duffer. "That's their storyline. And the adults are in Jaws and Close Encounters and then the teens are in Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween. But this year, we don't have the kids. We can't do TheGoonies anymore. And so, suddenly, we're leaning much harder into that horror movie territory that we love. It was fun to make that change."
Read the synopsis for Stranger Things Season 4 below:
It's been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.
Season 4 of Stranger Things premieres on Netflix on May 27. The first three seasons are currently available to stream.