New ‘Stranger Things 4’ Images Bring Out the Horror Movie Vibe

It’s been a while since we last returned to Hawkins, Indiana. The last time we saw Mike, Will, Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, and the older kids from Stranger Things was back in 2019, and then when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it pushed everything back. So now, almost three years later, we’re heading back to Hawkins, and there’s a lot of questions to be answered. How did Hopper survive? What’s happening now that Eleven and the Byers are in California? And why does everything seem so scary in the new trailers and promo pictures?

In a new episode of Present Company With Krista Smith, series creators the Duffer brothers gave a look into what we can expect out of season 4. “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 said, while pointing out that some fan theories online are accurate without getting into 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.” 

There are more images over on Netflix’s editorial site Tudum, and while they do very much give off the Nightmare on Elm Street feels, that’s intentional!

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

The future of Hawkins

As Ross Duffer pointed out, there are no longer “kids” in Stranger Things. The youngest of the original kids is Noah Schnapp, and he’s 17 years old at this point. They may have started the series as young preteens, but now, they’re young adults, and The Goonies aspect of the show is gone a bit—which does fit with the show as a whole, given where we left off in season 3.

Last we saw, Hopper was maybe dead or maybe a prisoner in Russia, and the kids were all being torn apart based on what was happening in the Upside Down. Things are dark, and with that comes a change in tone from the boys and Eleven trying to find Will Byers in season one, to figuring out what is going on with Hawkins.

Bringing Stranger Things into more of the horror movie side of things has been a long time coming, and getting to see where the show is going to take us in these last few installments should excite fans. I know that I can’t wait to see where my favorite teens are heading next and whether or not their adoptive father Steve Harrington will figure out his life, but if it means watching part of Stranger Things 4 with the light on, so be it.

(image: Netflix)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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