Is Hopper alive?
If he’s not, who is “The American” holed up in that Russian prison during the end credits of Stranger Things season two?
Despite us still being a significant amount of time away from Stranger Things season four hitting Netflix, that doesn’t stop fans across the globe speculating day and night as to what might happen next in the sci-fi story set in Hawkins, Indiana.
We’ve collated many of the biggest questions (and attempted to answer them) like; when will there be a new season of Stranger Things, who will likely be in the cast… and most importantly, what might happen next to the main characters.
Here’s your need to know guide to Stranger Things season 4… [Beware season 1-3 spoilers lie ahead]
Will there be a Stranger Things season 4 on Netflix?
Yes! Netflix announced in September 2019 that the show will be back for a fourth season. Check out the announcement video below, which features the tease: “we’re not in Hawkins anymore”. Where will season four take the gang? And will we get to Russia to find out who “The American” is? We have so many questions…
The Duffer Brothers have previously spoken about their plans for season 4. In an interview with Vulture in 2017, they suggested that they will end it after four seasons.
But producer Shawn Levy later said that enthusiasm from Netflix and its child stars may well have convinced them to go on for one more season after that, too.
“The truth is we’re definitely going four seasons and there’s very much the possibility of a fifth,” Levy said. “Beyond that, it becomes I think very unlikely.”
However, with Stranger Things being one of the hottest properties that Netflix has in its Originals arsenal and the streaming wars starting to hot up with the entrance of Apple, Disney, HBO and NBC into the on demand market, it feels like they would be looking for reasons to hang onto the show for as long as possible – and keep hold of the army of fans that come with it.
What date is Stranger Things season 4 released on Netflix?
This may be a tough pill to swallow, but going by the pattern from seasons 1,2 and 3, it could be late 2020, or early 2021 before we see Stranger Things season 4 released on Netflix in the UK and across the globe. So it’s going to be a long wait until we find out what’s going to happen next in the sci-fi show.
Season 2 came 15 months after season 1, and season 3 came 20 months after season 2.
In the finale of Stranger Things 3, there was a reference to the Byers and the Wheelers spending Christmas together, and the previous two seasons have revolved around holidays (Halloween and Independence Day in the USA). Perhaps December 2020 is our best hope if that is the direction they take…
Millie Bobby Brown (who plays Eleven on the show) confirmed on her Instagram that shooting for Stranger Things season 4 would begin “soon! early this year for sure” so we’re taking that as a good sign.
Who will be in the cast for Stranger Things season 4?
There were a few casualties in the last episode of season 3. Billy (Dacre Montgomery) is certainly dead (or as certain we can be that anyone is dead in Stranger Things), and is unlikely to return for a fourth run, unless as part of a cameo, a la Sean Astin’s Bob – or if they do a flashback of some sort?
We should expect to see most of the main cast back for season 4, including Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven, Finn Wolfhard’s Mike, Winona Ryder’s Joyce, Noah Schnapp’s Will, Caleb Mclaughlin’s Lucas, Gaten Matarazzo’s Dustin, Natalia Dyer’s Nancy, Charlie Heaton’s Jonathan, Maya Hawke’s Robin and Joe Keery (Steve).
There has been no official casting news yet, but we can safely assume there will probably be new cast members and guests announced in due course for season 4.
Is Hopper dead? Who is “The American”?
But the biggest question mark for season 4 remains over David Harbour’s name. Is Chief Hopper alive? At the end of season 3 he was apparently killed while the entrance to the Upside Down was closed, but the post titles scene referencing “The American” in a Russian jail has meant fans cannot keep speculating about whether or not Hopper will return.
And with message boards and social media set to keep speculating for another 12 months, the writers and creators of Stranger Things have admitted they haven’t made all the final decision on what’s going to happen.
“We don’t know a lot, but we do know a lot of the big broad strokes,” Ross Duffer told Entertainment Weekly. “At the end of season two, we knew about Billy. We knew that the Russians were going to come in. We didn’t know the mall and stuff, but again, we know these big broad strokes.
“That’s sort of where we are in season four.”
Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait to find out!
What will happen in the plot for Stranger Things season 4?
From the fate of Chief Hopper, to how exactly the Russians detained a Demogorgon, Stranger Things 3 left a lot of questions. Eleven questions, to be exact, which we go into more detail here.
But as well as tying up loose ends, a fourth run could open up new possibilities for the show: for instance, to accommodate the show’s quickly-ageing young cast, could Stranger Things 4 be set several years after season three?
In February 2020, TVLine‘s Michael Ausiello reported that season 4 could consist of 9 episodes, one more than initially planned. He also said that he was “hearing” that a “fan-favourite character may have his/her origin story told in one (or more) of those nine episodes.”
There’s no news as to who that could be, but there are plenty of possibilities. We don’t know much about newcomer Robin’s background, so she could be a good bet. Or perhaps we’ll find out how former journalist turned private investigator Murray Bauman became the bunker-living, vodka-drinking and Russian-speaking sleuth he is today.
There’s also the strong likelihood that the story will move beyond one town, with co-showrunner Matt Duffer recently telling EW that the fourth season could see plotlines moving “into areas outside of Hawkins”.
Ross Duffer, Matt’s brother and fellow Stranger Things co-creator, added about a fourth run: “It’s going to feel very different than this season.
“But I think that’s the right thing to do and I think it’ll be exciting.”
So we could see more of Russia perhaps in season 4, and the kids of Hawkins on the road in other areas of America and the world. And of course, as time goes by they will get older, so the writers will need to explain what’s happened in the intervening years before throwing us all back into what is sure to be another mystery of epic proportions.
Watch Stranger Things season 1-3 now on Netflix
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