Netflix reveals Stranger Things season 4's new characters - including character details, images and the cast playing them - in official set photos. The Hawkins gang has come a long way season Stranger Things season 1, when it was just Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) teaming up with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) to rescue their friend Will (Noah Schnapp). Since then, their circle has grown to include Max (Sadie Sink) in season 2, while season 3 introduced fan-favorite Robin (Maya Hawke), who became a friend of Steve Harrington (Joe Keery).
Each season of the Netflix show introduces new characters related to whatever storylines the Duffer Brothers explore over the course of the episodes and season 4 is no different. In addition to Stranger Things season 4 introducing The Hellfire Club, unofficial set photos have also teased a new character played by Hawke's brother Levon Thurman-Hawke. The Hellfire Club appeared to be related to the high school where the kids all attend - the teenagers have since graduated - while Thurman-Hawke's new character seemed tied to Robin and Steve's story. But not all of Stranger Things season 4 will take place in Hawkins. After a tease of Russia in the season 3 post-credits scene, a Stranger Things teaser showed Hopper in Russian, confirming that storyline will be further explored away from Indiana. Now, more information about Stranger Things season 4 is revealed along with a host of new characters.
On Twitter, Netflix unveiled photos and character details about eight new characters joining Stranger Things in season 4. See the photos and character details below. Robert Englund plays Victor Creel, “a disturbed and intimidating man who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for a gruesome murder in the 1950s.”
Eduardo Franco plays Argyle, a new friend of Jonathan’s (Charlie Heaton). He’s “a fun-loving stoner who proudly delivers delicious pizza pies for Surfer Boy Pizza.”
Jamie Campbell Bower plays Peter Ballard, “a caring man who works as an orderly at a psychiatric hospital.” According to Netflix, Peter is "tired of the brutality he witnesses day after day," and hints that the character may finally take a stand.
Sherman Augustus plays Lt. Colonel Sullivan, “an intelligent, no-nonsense man who believes he knows how to stop the evil in Hawkins once and for all.”
Mason Dye plays Jason Carver, “a handsome, rich athlete who is dating the most popular girl in school.” Hinting at Jason's storyline, Netflix goes on: "But as a new evil threatens Hawkins, his perfect world begins to unravel."
Tom Wlaschiha plays Dmitri, “a smart and charming Russian prison guard” who may not be trustworthy.
Nikola Djuricko plays Yuri, “a seedy and unpredictable Russian smuggler who loves bad jokes, cold hard cash, and crunchy style peanut butter.”
Joseph Quinn plays Eddie Munson, the head of The Hellfire Club, Hawkins High’s official D&D Club.
While these photos and character details don't necessarily spoil Stranger Things season 4, they do offer plenty of tidbits about what can be expected from the upcoming episodes. After the death of Billy (Dacre Montgomery) in season 3, and Steve's evolution from popular boy into a more nuanced character, it seems Dye's Jason is taking over the popular jock role in Hawkins. But like Steve and Billy before him, Jason will be pulled into the fight against evil; what remains to be seen is whether he becomes a villain like Billy or one of the heroes like Steve. Hawkins High will also feature The Hellfire Club, which is confirmed to be a Dungeons and Dragons club, but how Quinn's Eddie factors into the story beyond being head of the club remains unclear.
Between the additions of Englund's Victor Creel and Bower's Peter, it also seems a psychiatric hospital will be a key location in Stranger Things season 4, but how that ties into the overarching story remains to be seen. That said, with Peter contemplating taking a stand against the brutality of the hospital, it seems there will be some kind of uprising. And considering the show previously explored MKUltra and the scientists of Hawkins Laboratory conducting experiments on people, perhaps this will be an extension of that. The lab was shut down after all, so perhaps the experiments continued at this new location.
Last, the casting of Wlaschiha as Dmitri and Djuricko as Yuri may offer some insight into Hopper's Russia storyline. Since one is a guard who may or may not be trustworthy and the other is a smuggler, it may be that these are both people who help Hopper escape and return home. If Dmitri turns out to be untrustworthy, though, any kind of escape plan may be thwarted by those holding Hopper in the first place. How all these characters fit into the Stranger Things season 4 story is largely speculation and it may not be until a trailer is released that more insight is revealed.
Source: Netflix