Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo dubs the series' fourth season as the scariest entry yet for the Netflix series. Anticipation is high for season 4 of one of the streamer's most popular shows. Production on Stranger Things is far from finished partly because, when the pandemic hit, production was delayed. The cast is still currently shooting the upcoming episodes. This delay did give the Duffer Brothers time to finish all of the season's scripts in advance, something they had never done with prior seasons.
The cast has been steadily teasing the new season, including Stranger Things' more mature tone as the series grows with its characters. Mike, Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, and Will may have started the series as young pre-teens, but since the show's debut in 2016, the cast has rapidly grown alongside their resumés. When Stranger Things returns, the characters will be older and wiser and separated from their friends now that Will and Eleven have moved away from Hawkins. This burgeoning maturity comes with a darker tone, according to Matarazzo.
The Dustin actor appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk about Prank Wars and Stranger Things. Fallon asked Matarazzo about the upcoming season, noting that the actor had already told him that season 4 would be the scariest entry yet. Matarazzo confirmed that even he was blown away by the level of scares in the scripts, revealing that as he read them he realized that they're really upping the ante. "That’s the one thing I noticed when I was reading it," he said. "They’re going for it this year and that’s pretty cool."
Stranger Things has always been scary, but it sounds like the fourth season will be going for a new level of scares. As the actors grow, so, too, does the audience. Those who began watching the show five years ago have matured as much as the cast and it sounds like the tone will be reflective of that. It will also show off the expanded world at the heart of the series. Stranger Things season 2 already teased this when Eleven met Kali, AKA Eight, another test subject from Hawkins Lab.
Whether or not Eight reappears remains up in the air, but it's clear that the separation of Will and Eleven from their friends will take a toll on their relationships and serve as a jumping-off point for a wider range of stories. It also seems like the Upside Down will be following them, with Eleven and Will unable to escape the horrors of the past. Stranger Things season four may be taking a long time to hit Netflix, but it sounds like when it does it will be worth the wait.