Stranger Things season 4 trailer: the Upside Down wages war on Hawkins

Millie Bobby Brown as Elven screaming and causing explosions in Stranger Things
Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things season 4 (Image credit: Netflix)

Just a little more than a month away from the premiere of Stranger Things season 4 on Netflix, a brand new trailer gives fans the best look at one of the most highly-anticipated 2022 TV shows' return. After watching the trailer, the first reaction can only be: is it May 27 yet?

This latest Stranger Things season 4 trailer is an epic preview of what certainly looks to be the biggest season. We get an ominous voice warning our heroes, Max (Sadie Sink) revealing that nothings has been the same since the events of season 3, Hopper's (David Harbour) trials in the Russian prison camp, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) revealing that she doesn't have her powers anymore and a government official telling her that she is the only hope to save Hawkins from the war that is coming. Not to mention a great needle drop of Journey's "Separate Ways." Check out the trailer right here:

How can you not be pumped for what lies in store after that?

In case you need a brief recap, the end of Stranger Things season 3 saw our favorite group of Hawkins teens win the Battle of Starcourt, where the Russians had opened up a new portal to the Upside Down, though it appeared that both Hopper and Max's brother Billy had died (Dacre Montgomery). Afterwards, the Byers and Eleven decide to leave Hawkins. Then in the closing moments of the season it was teased that Hopper was still alive but had been transported to a Russian prison; it was then quickly confirmed that yes, Hopper is alive.

Here is the official synopsis from Netflix for Stranger Things season 4:

"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."

We get an even better sense of the scale and what the dangers are for the Stranger Things crew with this latest trailer, including a brand new monster from the Upside Down, this time with an actual face and apparently the ability to talk. The trailer also features what has been the tagline for Stranger Things season 4, "Every ending has a beginning," as it has already been announced that Stranger Things season 5 will be the concluding chapter of this story.

Fans are already theorizing what some of the biggest moments from the trailer could mean, with the biggest one being that Billy is somehow alive/resurrected.

We'll have to wait until May 27 when Stranger Things season 4 releases on Netflix to start getting answers, though that will just be one part of the season. Part 2 of Stranger Things season 4 is then going to drop on July 1. Until then you can rewatch all episode of Stranger Things on Netflix, or just rewatch the trailer a few thousand times.

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Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.