Netflix's Stranger Things season 4 will introduce a character played by A Nightmare On Elm Street’s Robert Englund, and one fan theory argues that the character's subplot will recreate another iconic ‘80s horror, the Stephen King adaptation The Shining. Since the series debuted in 2016, Stranger Things has been as heavily creatively indebted to horror author Stephen King as it is to blockbuster director Steven Spielberg. An icon of small-town, all-American ‘80s horror, Stephen King is referenced throughout the three seasons of Stranger Things and the combination of coming-of-age nostalgia with dark genre fare found in his work defined the tone of the Netflix hit.
While early Stranger Things season 4’s trailers have made it clear that the series is set to change up a lot of its formula for the fourth outing, it is obvious already that the show’s Stephen King influence is not going anywhere. The ‘Creel House’ trailer for Stranger Things season 4 has already referenced one of King’s most famous movie adaptations, The Shining. Now, this nod has spawned online speculation about whether Stranger Things season 4 will feature a subplot that recreates elements of the iconic Kubrick horror movie while subverting its ending.
The ‘Creel House’ trailer shows an idyllic home being taken over by the Upside Down back in the ‘50s/’60s, and one fan theory claims this is because Stranger Things season 4 will mix Nightmare On Elm Street and The Shining. Freddy Krueger actor Robert Englund has already been confirmed as a season 4 guest star, and speculation about his role has led some fans to think that Stranger Things is casting the ‘80s icon to misdirect viewers. Familiarity with both The Shining and A Nightmare On Elm Street is necessary to understand the fan theory, which proposes that Stranger Things is recreating the Kubrick hit with one big twist.
Stranger Things Season 4 Fan Theory Explained
The 'Creel House' trailer shows the titular Hawkins haunted house being investigated by the Stranger Things gang before the action flashes back to a family’s happy existence there. This charming vision of home life is disturbed by flashing lights and glimpses of the Upside Down invading the house, before a hard cut to the father of the family standing over the dead bodies of his daughters. This character, Victor Creel, is the Stranger Things season 4 character Englund plays. A newcomer to the series, according to the scant information available about the character, Creel is imprisoned by the start of season 4 for supposedly killing his family. However, this Stranger Things fan theory says the Upside Down claimed the lives of his family and he is innocent, with Creel being left behind to take the blame. Much like The Shining’s Jack Torrance was driven mad by the Overlook, according to this fan theory, Creel seemed unhinged when he claimed that the Upside Down killed his family. However, the Stranger Things kids may be able to clear his name, now that they have uncovered the creepy shadow dimension in earlier outings.
Stranger Things Season 4’s Shining References
The Stranger Things season 4 trailer shot of Creel standing over the bodies of the little girls looks a lot like the reveal of Grady’s dead twins in the Overlook's hallway during The Shining. It is an obvious recreation of the very famous shot, which would make it a surprise if Creel was actually innocent despite his pose recreating the famous horror movie image. Grady very much did kill his children, and Jack Torrance does also try to murder his small family (albeit because of the hotel’s influence over his psyche). However, this fan theory claims that it would typical of Stranger Things' subversions of ‘80s pop culture for the show to frame Creel like Grady and have him played by an actor famous for being an iconic child killer, only for him to turn out to be innocent all along.
Stranger Things Season 4’s Nightmare On Elm Street Connection
Casting Englund as Creel could be a misdirect as the actor is famous for playing Nightmare On Elm Street's Freddy Krueger (who, like Grady, was very much was guilty of the murders he was accused of). Stranger Things saw the series cast Aliens sleazebag, Paul Reiser, as a shady scientist who turned out to be good, while season 3 saw ‘80s heartthrob Cary Elwes play a duplicitous villain. Subverting the images of ‘80s icons is a long-running mainstay of Stranger Things, making it likely that Englund’s villain will turn out to be a secret hero. Not only that, but Steve’s journey from a thuggish jock to a surprisingly sweet Stranger Things supporting star provides further evidence that the Netflix hit prefers to play with the tropes of ‘80s pop culture rather than simply recreate them. With this in mind, it makes more sense to cast Englund as a secretly innocent hero, rather than another familiar villain.
Why The Theory Might Not Be True
Casting an '80s horror legend like Englund as a hero would be Stranger Things’ cleverest trick since the show made the usually scummy Reiser into a surprise good guy. However, there may not be sufficient screen time for Stranger Things season 4 to pull off this story with everything else that the long-awaited outing needs to focus on. With the group of main characters now split across the country, Hopper stuck in Russia, and one episode title hinting at season 3 anti-villain Billy’s return, there may simply be too much story in Stranger Things season 4 for the kids to have time to exonerate an elderly criminal.
It would be a superb use of Englund to have the screen veteran finally play a heroic character after years of being typecast as a bad guy, but Stranger Things season 4 has sky-high fan expectations to live up to and can’t afford for its story to skew off in numerous different directions. Stranger Things season 4’s first trailer implied it would avoid season 3’s biggest problem, which was a preponderance of subplots that never weaved together compellingly. As such, the story of Nightmare On Elm Street’s villain seemingly re-enacting The Shining only to turn out to be innocent could be interesting but might be a bit too ambitious a plot for Stranger Things season 4 to add into the mix.