The latest season of Stranger Things premiered a few days ago, and it has been topping the Netflix popularity charts globally ever since. But, even though fans finally reconnected with their favorite characters, they have to wait longer to see how the season ends, with the much-awaited fourth season being split into two volumes. Executive producer and director Shawn Levy explains why they chose to do that.
The fourth season of Stranger Things has a lot to tackle. From Eleven losing her powers, David Harbour's Jim Hopper being stuck in a Russian prison, to the residents of Hawkins coping with the deaths and trials of the previous season, season 4 was expected to be packed with answers. However, to deliver all that information in a timely fashion wasn’t going to be an easy task. Levy explains that in order to get the answers to the fans of the series, the decision to split the season became a necessity.
Volume One of Stranger Things season 4 was released on May 27, and the story picks up six months after the events of the season three finale. When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Levy revealed that they weren’t sure if all nine episodes of Season 4 would be “ready in time.” Considering it had already been almost three years since the last season premiered, the creative team decided to release the first seven episodes earlier. The end of episode 7, in Levy’s opinion, is “a satisfying breaking point and pay-off moment,” and it should “keep people fed for enough weeks so we can finish up volume two.”
Within the first seven episodes of the season, the timeline moves between characters in different locations. Fans are taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions as they watch Hopper trying to escape from prison, Eleven regaining her powers, and her friends scrambling to stay alive all while dealing with the new dark villain Vecna. Levy confessed that they were happy to have been able to give the “audience a huge meal of story” within Volume One. Releasing those episodes early meant that they could now focus entirely on the remaining two episodes, with the Stranger Things season 4 finale clocking in at a runtime of over two hours. “This season relies on next-level visual effects and world-building, and as you can imagine, Volume Two is very ambitious in its storytelling, and we need a little more time to finish strong,” Levy said.
So, what’s in store for fans? The remaining two episodes, Levy reveals, will be “as emotional as they are cinematic.” He refers to them as “a treat for the eyes, but they punch you right in the heart.” They hope to stick the perfect landing for the Stranger Things season 4 finale, setting things up for the final season. “It will be bittersweet for us to shoot and very bittersweet for audiences to watch,” he said.
Stranger Things season 4 vol. 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter