After nearly three long years of waiting, Stranger Things fans are finally about to be treated to a trip back to Hawkins, Indiana as season four debuts its first half on Netflix later this month. While folks are ecstatic that the hit supernatural series is here again, the coming of the new season is bittersweet as it seves as the show’s penultimate run. Season five has been confirmed to be its last.
On the upside, what that means is that everything fans have been waiting to happen ever since Stranger Things kicked off way back in 2016 is actually going to start happening. That’s what star Charlie Heaton, who plays eldest Byers boy Jonathan, has teased while speaking to Screen Rant. When asked about how it feels to be ending the series, new cast-member Eduardo Franco remarked that season four is “the beginning for me.” This caused Heaton to respond that it’s really “the beginning of the end.” He then went on to add that this new run will be “mind-blowing.” Heaton explained:
“But I think what’s great about getting towards the end is, from a story standpoint, you’re kind of unveiling a lot of the curtain now for fans. You’re getting to see so much more of what’s behind this. You’re getting deeper into the story.”
Funnily enough, Heaton’s co-star and real-life partner Natalia Dyer — who plays Jonathan’s girlfriend, Nancy — has said much the same as him in a separate interview, so it seems the couple might’ve mutually agreed on what they can and can’t tease to the press. That wouldn’t be at all surprising, seeing as how those involved wouldn’t want to spoil what all the signs are promising will be a game-changing next chapter in the saga of Eleven and her friends.
Season four certainly has a lot of room to begin tying up any loose ends before its final year as ST4 will be the longest run yet, by quite some way. As well as consisting of nine episodes instead of eight, like season two before it, every installment is no less than an hour in length. It’s such a mammoth undertaking that Netflix is splitting its release into two for the first time ever. The first half drops on the streaming giant this Friday, May 27 with the second part following six weeks later on July 1.
