Yesterday, Netflix unveiled a three minute long trailer for Stranger Things season 4, which is going to be released in two volumes: Volume 1 reaches the streaming service on May 27th and Volume 2 will follow on July 1st. The folks at IGN were then able to get Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers to sit down go through the trailer while recording an audio track where they discuss the visuals and the story of the season. This “trailer breakdown” video, which is sixteen minutes long, can be viewed at the bottom of this article. During their discussion, the Duffers also reveal that the villain of the season, who you can see an image of in the video thumbnail, is called Vecna – and they describe him as a Freddy Krueger / Pennywise / Pinhead type of character.
Stranger Things season 4 has the following 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.
Just like “Demogorgon”, the name Vecna comes from Dungeons & Dragons. Screen Rant dug up the information that in the game,
Vecna was a wizard who sought dark magic and gradually transformed himself into an immortal creature known as a lich; his worshipers further encouraged his ascension to become an actual deity. Vecna granted his lieutenant Kas a sentient blade to act as his agent, but it persuaded Kas to turn on his master, leading to Vecna’s apparent destruction. He left behind only two magical artifacts – his hand and his left eye, imbued with powerful dark magic. Curiously, most of the lore surrounding Vecna was established after 1986, when Stranger Things season 4 is set, so it’s difficult to say how closely the show’s portrayal of Vecna will parallel Dungeons & Dragons; he’ll presumably be named by the Hawkins kids based on the lore they know of in 1986.
Episodes of Stranger Things season 4 were written by the Duffer Brothers (401, 402, 407, 408, 409), Caitlin Schneiderhan (403), Paul Dichter (404), Kate Trefry (405), and Curtis Gwinn (406). They were directed by the Duffer Brothers (401, 402, 407, 408, 409), Shawn Levy (403, 404), and Nimród Antal (405, 406).
Here’s the list of this season’s cast members and the characters they’re playing:
Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler), Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner), Paul Reiser (Dr. Owens), Jamie Campbell Bower (Peter Ballard), Joseph Quinn (Eddie Munson), Eduardo Franco (Argyle), Sherman Augustus (Lt. Colonel Sullivan), Mason Dye (Jason Carver), Nikola Djuricko (Yuri), Tom Wlaschiha (Dmitri), Myles Truitt (Patrick), Regina Ting Chen (Ms. Kelly), Grace Van Dien (Chrissy), Logan Riley Bruner (Fred Benson), Logan Allen (Jake), Elodie Grace Orkin (Angela), John Reynolds (Officer Callahan), Rob Morgan (Chief Powell), Amybeth McNulty (Vickie), and Freddy Krueger himself Robert Englund (Victor Creel).
Stranger Things is produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment. The Duffer Brothers serve as executive producers alongside Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps Entertainment, Iain Paterson, and Curtis Gwinn.