Stranger Things 4 will be darker and presumably gorier

Despite the pandemic’s impact on TV filming schedules, the widely popular Netflix show Stranger Things 4 is still in production. We can all rejoice that the show should wrap up filming sometime this year and will be available to stream soon enough. And, if we believe the creators, the Duffer brothers’ extra time to work on the show will make for the best season we’ve ever seen.

We last left off with the Stranger Things kids defeating a giant meat jelly version of the Mind Flayer and losing Billy in the process. Simultaneously, Hopper and Joyce successfully deactivate the machine threatening to open the Upside Down. Joyce walks out of that alone, believing that Hopper died during the machine’s electric blast. However, last year’s teaser confirmed that Hopper is alive and in a Russian prison camp.

After two years of waiting, we can thank Finn Wolfhard for coming through with some Stranger Things 4 insight. In a recent interview with CBC Listen’s q with Tom Power, Wolfhard gave fans some new tidbits on what to expect from the new season.

"“Every season, it gets darker. Really, I will say with Season 3, I was like, this is the darkest season that there’ll ever be, like the exploding rats and everything. But really, Season 4 so far, it’s the darkest season there’s ever been. Every year, it gets amped up. Every year it gets funnier and darker and sadder, and everything. Every year, they amp it up.”"

If exploding rats marks the scale on which Wolfhard ranks gruesomeness, then this new season is going to be gory. Anything worse than Season 3’s exploding people, merging meat jellies, and a giant meat jelly monster, has to be ghastly. Considering everything that Billy went through, I also imagine that the Mind Flayer will continue to delight us with its chilling tactics on taking over our dimension.

Also, take note that Wolfhard emphasizes that season 4 will be even funnier and sadder than previous seasons. One can only imagine the funny scenarios that the Duffers have cooked up this time around. Wolfhard also mentions in the interview that there are new characters, and he expressly highlights Eduardo Franco, best known for Booksmart and The Package. Wolfhard says that Franco will be a stoner, and since his filmography features mostly funny characters, I’m willing to bet he’s going to be a big part of the comic relief.

As for the even sadder premise Wolfhard mentions, what could be more tragic than believing that Hopper died? I’m sure that death and despair are somewhere in the cards for Stranger Things this season, as it has never disappointed in that department. That’s not even including breakups and separations that are always bound to happen in the end. As long as Barb’s situation doesn’t happen again, we should be fine.

Do you think that Stranger Things season 4 will be darker than the rest? Sound off in the comments.