The hit Netflix series Stranger Things is so successful thanks to the incredible young cast. While Winona Ryder and David Harbour bring their acting talents to the roles of Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper, the young actors have become super famous as a result of starring on the show for the past three seasons. They not only play their sweet characters with charm and heart, but they are all best friends too, often giving interviews about how close they are and how meaningful starring on the show is to them.
The science-fiction aspects of the show are entertaining, and the story always moves along super quickly, which means that the series never has a dull moment. But the series also proves that it's all about the main characters who tug on fans' heartstrings and who everyone has become really invested in. When Stranger Things returns to Netflix this spring for its fourth season, which fans are really excited about, there is one problem that the show will need to overcome.
The news that Stranger Things will have a two-part season 4 is a little sad, as it's going to be super tough to wait between episodes since it's hard not to binge-watch this show. In season 3 of Stranger Things, the characters are about to go to high school. They're having a lot of fun hanging out at the Starcourt Mall... except for the weird events that keep taking place, of course. The main problem with the upcoming fourth season of the show? The fact that the last season aired in the summer of 2019... and now that it's 2022, the child actors are all grown up and look a lot different and older than they did before. Finn Wolfhard and Gaten Matarazzo, who play Mike Wheeler and Dustin Henderson, are now 19 years old. Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, is 17. Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) is 20 years old, and Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) is 18.
While season 4 is most likely going to be set in high school, as the characters seem to be at that time in their life, the characters are still going to look much older than they did in the season 3 finale "Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt." This feels like a bit of an issue since it will just look so striking. Of course, this is a problem that couldn't really be helped as the COVID-19 pandemic delayed filming of season 4 for quite a while. But while going from eighth to ninth grade is a big deal, as it means leaving middle school (and childhood) behind for the scary and intimidating (at least at first) world of high school, teenagers don't usually look wildly different from June of grade 8 to September of grade 9.
There could be a way to make this seem like less of a problem, though, and that would include a bit of a time jump. Maybe season 4 will include a quick recap of the events of season 3, fans will learn if Hopper (David Harbour) is actually still alive, and Eleven and Mike and the gang will be reunited. Then maybe the season will take place in the second or third year of high school when it's okay that everyone looks a lot older. This would definitely work just fine and audiences would understand the reason behind the change. This might not happen, though, and it seems likely that season 4 of Stranger Things will start right where season 3 left off.
Of course, even though the actors will look older, Stranger Things is still an incredible, wonderful, and heartwarming series that deserves all of the accolades that it receives. Season 4 of Stranger Things needs to address questions, and it definitely seems like it will. The Netflix series has always done a good job leaving enough mystery to interest people while answering questions and explaining its science fiction world. It will be great to be back in Hawkins, Indiana seeing what wild things are taking place and how the young characters are coping while still having fun and growing up.
Fans can look forward to what is sure to be an amazing season 4 of Stranger Things. As Matt Duffer told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2020 interview, he and his brother Russ know how talented the cast is, and that informs the series. Matt explained, "We keep learning the same lesson over and over again: We cram too many ideas into the show. We’ve learned to really rely on our actors; we take so much inspiration from them. The script evolves as we start to work with them, and that’s something we’ve been increasingly open to." What ages will the young characters be when the show comes back? Fans will have to wait and see.