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As fans sink their teeth into the first installment of the new sci-fi series, many are curious to know when does Stranger Things season 4 Volume 2 come out?
Nostalgic, action-packed and at times all-out strange, Netflix’s Stranger Things has earnt a huge cult following since it first aired on the streaming platform in July 2016. Audiences welcomed Winona Ryder back to screens, revelled in the 80s soundtrack and fell in love with the young and sweet Hawkins High kids who found their world turned upside down with the introduction of Millie Bobbi Brown’s Eleven.
Season 3 ended on a huge cliffhanger with the welfare of Sheriff Jim Hopper – aka Lily Allen’s husband David Harbour – certainly under question. Thankfully, the wait is over and Stranger Things season 4 is here to entertain and thrill fans once more. Though some patience is required – as the new series is split into two volumes to keep the anticipation alive. We share when Volume 2 comes out and give you the low-down on the new characters joining Season 4.
When does Stranger Things season 4 Volume 2 come out?
Volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4 will be released on Netflix on Friday 1 July, 2022. The final 2 episodes will drop at midnight (Pacific time), 2am (Central time) and 3am (Eastern time). Whilst UK viewers will have to wait until 8am that day to watch it.
The first installment of the new season arrived on Netflix on 27 May. So there’s a five-week wait between the two volumes. Stranger Things creators – the Duffer brothers – have explained that they decided to the split season 4 into two parts because the episode lengths are longer.
“Episode 7 is as big as any season finale we’ve ever had, so it made sense to everyone involved to split the season there,” Matt Duffer told Variety. “Episode 7 really serves as the end of the second act — and we feel that our final act had enough meat on the bone to make up Volume 2.”
Ross Duffer agrees. In terms of the season 4 structure he breaks Volume 2 down as essentially the “third act”. “We really see Volume 1 as the first two acts of this story, and then Volume 2 is the final act,” he tells Netflix’s Tudum.
How long are the Stranger things 4 episodes?
New episodes in Stranger Things season 4 range in length from just over an hour to around an hour and a half. However, the grand finale – released 1 July – will run for 2 hours and 30 minutes. There are nine episodes in total in Stranger Things season 4.
- Chapter One: The Hellfire Club – 1hr 16mins
- Chapter Two: Vecna’s Curse – 1hr 15mins
- Chapter Three: The Monster and the Superhero – 1hr 3mins
- Chapter Four: Dear Billy – 1hr 17 mins
- Chapter Five: The Nina Project – 1hr 14mins
- Chapter Six: The Dive – 1hr 13mins
- Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab – 1hr 38mins
- Chapter Eight: Papa – 1hr 25mins (Released: 1 July)
- Chapter Nine: The Piggyback– 2hr 30mins (Released: 1 July)
“They truly are movies, at least in terms of length,” Ross Duffer says of the new episodes. Fellow brother Matt argues that Chapter Nine is actually longer than your regular movie. This being said, they both agree that the last episode is like “a long movie.”
Credit: Netflix
A ninth episode was originally not part of the Duffer Brothers’ plan for Stranger Things season four. But as time went on, the two creators realised a need for it:
“Partway through outlining, we realized we needed another episode,” Matt shares. “It was originally going to be eight episodes, and we asked Netflix if they would be open to us having another episode, Episode 9. Which they were super supportive of.”
Season 2 is the only other series of Stranger Things to have nine episodes in total. Seasons 1 and 3 both have eight.
What is Stranger Things season 4 about?
“It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins,” reads the official season 4 synopsis from Netflix. “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.”
Credit: Netflix
Stranger Things season 4: Cast members returning
- David Harbour (Hellboy, Black Widow, Suicide Squad) returns as Jim Hopper
- Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands) returns as Joyce Byers
- Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes) returns as Eleven.
- Finn Wolfhard (IT, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) returns as Mike Wheeler
- Gaten Matarazzo (Prank Encounters) returns as Dustin Henderson
- Caleb McLaughlin (Concrete Cowboy) returns as Lucas Sinclair
- Noah Schnapp (Abe) returns as Will Byers
- Sadie Sink (Fear Street) returns as Max Mayfield
- Natalia Dyer (Yes, God, Yes) returns as Nancy Wheeler
- Charlie Heaton (The New Mutants) returns as Jonathan Byers
- Joe Keery (Free Guy, Spree) returns as Steve Harrington
- Maya Hawke (Little Women, Mainstream) returns as Robin Buckley
The show’s breakout star Millie Bobbi Brown told Jimmy Fallon that Stranger Things season 4 is set to emotional. Fans should expect “lots of answers — lots of crying, lots of laughing,” she joked.
“The main part, and the slogan of this storyline, is it’s the beginning of the end,” she told the talk show host. “We really have to dig deep into [Eleven’s] beginning and how she became who she is with the people around her, and how to gain that autonomy and become this woman on her own. So this storyline this season really digs into that.”
Credit: Netflix
Co-star Sadie Sink – who joined the cast in season 2 – promises the new series is even stranger too:
“It’s the most bizarre season we’ve ever had,” she said in an interview with People. “Just the scale of it is out of this world. We get to explore a lot of different themes and different sides of the characters that everyone knows and loves, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s coming!”
Who are the new characters in Stranger Things season 4?
- Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments, New Moon) plays Peter Ballard
- Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street) plays Victor Creel
- Mason Dye (Teen Wolf) plays student Jason Carver
- Eduardo Franco (Booksmart, American Vandal) plays Jonathan’s friend Argyle
- Joseph Quinn (Catherine the Great) plays Hellfire Club founder Eddie Munson
- Sherman Augustus (Into the Badlands) plays Lt Colonel Sullivan
- Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones) plays Russian prison guard Dmitri
- Nikola Djuricko (World War Z, In the Land of Blood and Honey) plays Russian smuggler Yuri
A number of new actors join the cast in season 4 to shake up the story. Familiar talent includes Jamie Campbell Bower of Twilight and Harry Potter fame who plays Peter Ballard. We’re told his character is “a caring man who works as an orderly at a psychiatric hospital”.
Joining Peter in the psychiatric hospital is Robert Englund (aka THE Freddy Kruger) who plays Victor Creel. Netflix have kept his character description rather short and sweet – “a disturbed and intimidating man” imprisoned there. Booksmart’s Eduardo Franco is another new addition in season 4. Netflix has teased his character as “Jonathan’s new best friend” Argyle who happens to be “a fun-loving stoner and pizza delivery boy”.
Credit: Netflix
British actor Joseph Quinn is set to put in a memorable performance as Eddie Munson in season 4. He’s the head of Hawkins High official Dungeons and Dragons game club known as The Hellfire Club. Both Mike and Dustin are believed to be members of the D&D gang.
Tom Wlaschiha (faceless man in Game of Thrones) and Nikola Djuricko also appear as two Russian characters.
Is there a season 5 of Stranger Things?
Yes, Netflix confirmed on 17 February 2022 that there would be a season 5 of Stranger Things and that this would be the final season. Show creators the Duffer Brothers have also confirmed the next series is the end of the show: “Season 4 will be the penultimate season; season 5 will be the last.”
Matt and Ross shared news of Stranger Things season 5 and finale in an open letter to fans – shared in February 2022:
“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things,” they wrote. “At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four, but — as you’ll soon see for yourselves — we are not hurtling toward our finale.”
uoos noʎ ǝǝs pic.twitter.com/pJ71dRgmo1
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) February 17, 2022
The letter alluded that fans could expect a spin-off television series or two in the future. Despite the main show ending.
“There are still many exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes,” the brothers added. But for now, they thanked fans for their “patience and support” promising season 4 as “bigger than ever”.
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