Netflix Teases Answers in First Full Trailer for Stranger Things Season 4

It’s been almost three years since the irrepressible gang of Stranger Things kids concluded their last adventure with the Battle of the Starcourt Mall, and you’d be forgiven for having forgotten some of the hazier details of the show’s history, given that it originally premiered all the way back in 2016. Suffice to say, the “kids” are getting on in the years these days, and the newly unveiled look at the upcoming fourth season, aka Stranger Things 4, shows just how much they’ve once again grown. At the same time, it also teases quite a lot of deeper mysteries from across the series’ run, seemingly promising some answers to long-buried questions about the Upside Down. According to the most recent Netflix synopsis:

It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. 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.

Ah yes, one of those TV “six month” periods where all the characters get several years older. If you were wondering, the oldest of the core group is Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), who is now 20 years old, while Noah Schnapp (Will) is still merely 17. The group are all now in high school, so at least the age factor hasn’t becoming glaring just yet. However, considering that there’s still a Stranger Things 5 planned to conclude the series, one has to wonder if the final season (with COVID-19 delays factored in) will be presenting the Stranger Things kids as undergraduate college students.

The fact that there will be a fifth season at all is sort of surprising, when you look at the below trailer, which has a definite air of finality to it. Who is this new architect of all the Upside Down chaos? Moreover, can Eleven regain her powers to stop it? And while we’re at it: How exactly did Hopper get teleported to Russia, anyway?

Stranger Things 4 is being released in two segments, with “Volume 1” on May 27, 2022 and “Volume 2” following on July 1, 2022. Check out the full trailer below.