‘Stranger Things’ Will Lean ‘Much Harder Into Horror Movie Territory’ In Season 4

2022 is proving to be The Year of Good TV Shows That Have Been Away for Too Long Finally Coming Back. Atlanta returns after a four-year break this week; Barry season three premieres in April; and May sees the return of Stranger Things, the most recent season of which debuted in July 2019. “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,” co-creator Ross Duffer explained about the gap between seasons on the Present Company With Krista Smith podcast.

Duffer also teased a darker tone for season four:

“When we pitched it to Netflix all those years ago, we pitched it as the kids are… The Goonies in E.T.. 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.”

One thing that hasn’t changed over the years, based on the new photos Netflix released for season four: Will and his unfortunate haircuts. Check out the images below.

The first half of Stranger Things season four premieres on May 27, followed by the second half on July 1.