The Upside Down hasn’t spewed out its last nightmarish nasty. Not yet, at least.
One month out from the premiere of season 2, Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer have turned in some new intel on the quaint town of Hawkins, the time jump to 1984, and those sky-scraping monsters looming overhead. Dubbed the Shadow Monster (Thessalhydra?), Netflix subscribers have been wondering just who – or rather, what – on Earth is stalking Will’s nightmares ever since the online streamer dropped that thrilling SDCC trailer for Stranger Things season 2.
It’ll run nine episodes as opposed to last year’s lot of eight, and as part of Entertainment Weekly’s cover spread, the Duffer Brothers touched on that Shadow Monster. It’s “all connected to a singular threat,” apparently, with the tendriled demon said to be the overarching big bad of season 2.
But unlike the first season, Stranger Things‘ sophomore run will feature more than one monster, and things will seemingly get “much crazier than it ever got in season one.”
Echoing the Duffer Brothers, series producer, and director Shawn Levy made note of season 2’s production values, with Netflix bracing for a huge push worthy of a James Cameron film.
Everything the way Netflix is approaching the marketing, the publicity, the licensing, the merchandising, those are all closer to a feature film tentpole franchise model than a second season of a television series.
Ready for the return trip to Hawkins? Stranger Things is beginning to grip the Internet once more ahead of its return on October 27th, and all signs point to season 2 delivering a spooky surprise this Halloween season. And you needn’t worry about Things becoming long in the tooth, as the Duffer Brothers have seemingly mapped out a four-or-five season arc.
