Stranger Things 4 First Look Photos, Full Cast, Synopsis, Directors’ List Out

Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends are ready to face off against evil.

Each day brings us closer and closer to the release of Stranger Things Season 4. In case you’ve been living in the Upside Down and missed the announcement earlier this spring, the fourth season will be broken up into two parts, making it the biggest and boldest installment of the series yet. Volume 1 makes its debut on May 27, with Volume 2 following on July 1.

As the Duffer brothers previously revealed, Season 4 will find our favorite characters scattered throughout four different — but equally creepy — locations around the world, from snowy Russia to sunny California. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and the rest of the crew will have to work together to defeat an even more vicious supernatural force and put a stop to the Upside Down once and for all.

In a forthcoming episode of the next season of the podcast Present Company With Krista Smith, the Duffer brothers hinted that fans have much to look forward to when Stranger Things returns in May. “I think they’ll be happy when they see it. It’s very, very long, which is why it’s taking us a very long time,” Ross Duffer shared, noting that some of the fan theories he’s seen online are “startlingly” accurate — though he wouldn’t say which ones. “I’m constantly impressed with how sharp the fans are, and how quickly they’re able to put something together with very, very little information.”

Mike (Finn Wolfhard) will do anything to protect his friends.

Things are looking up for Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Max (Sadie Sink), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Erica (Priah Ferguson).

Steve (Joe Keery), Eddie (Joseph Quinn), Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Robin (Maya Hawke) might just be in over their heads.

Season 4, Volume 1 picks up six months after the events of Season 3, which had our heroes battling the Mind Flayer in the middle of the Starcourt Mall, as one does. And the characters have come such a long way since we first met them in Season 1, as the Duffer brothers noted in conversation with Smith, explaining that Season 4 will have a much darker, “horror movie” vibe.

“When we pitched it to Netflix all those years ago, we pitched it as the kids are...The Goonies in E.T.,” explained Ross. “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 The Goonies anymore. And so, suddenly, we’re leaning much harder into that horror movie territory that we love. It was fun to make that change.”

If you just can’t wait for the next meeting of the Dungeons & Dragons Club, check out these first-look photos at the next installment of Stranger Things — and then be sure to assemble your own Demogorgon-fighting crew accordingly. Season 4, Volume 1 drops May 27.

Introducing the official dream team of Robin and Nancy.

Spotted: Jim Hopper (David Harbour), alive and well.

Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Murray (Brett Gelman) look chilly — and worried — in the snow. Perhaps it has something to do with the crashed plane behind them?

Here's the official synopsis for Stranger Things 4 from Netflix:

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.

March 24, 2022