Stranger Things’ Season 4 debut is still a few months away, but Netflix has released a heart-pounding trailer of the upcoming season to tide us over.
In the trailer, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), and the rest of the gang try to move on after Billy’s death and live a normal life, but it’s not that easy. A war is coming, Dr. Sam Owens (Paul Reiser) tells Eleven, and she and her friends will be needed if they want to win. The gang will have to band together to combat an even more powerful supernatural force–who promises their suffering is coming–and put an end to the Upside Down for good.
From chilly Russia to sunny California, Season 4 will see the characters distributed across four distinct—but equally terrifying—locales throughout the world.
The Netflix synopsis reads: “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.”
As Adweek reported in February, Netflix is splitting the fourth season into two parts, and has ordered a fifth and final season of the show. Season 4 Volume 1 premieres May 27, followed by Volume 2 on July 1.
In a forthcoming episode of the next season of the podcast Present Company With Krista Smith, the Duffer brothers hinted that fans have much to look forward to when Stranger Things returns in May.
“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,” said Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer.
The characters have come such a long way since we first met them in Season 1, as the Duffer brothers noted in conversation with Smith, explaining that Season 4 will have a much darker, “horror movie” vibe.