Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo says season 4 will be more mature and continue to incorporate the growing pains of its cast and characters. The youthful cast of Matt and Ross Duffer’s series consists of Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Matarazzo), and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Joined by Priah Ferguson’s Erica, Sadie Sink’s Max (season 2), older teens Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, Robin, local police chief, Jim Hopper, along with Will/Jonathan’s mum, Joyce Byers, our heroes have battled supernatural forces revolving around the Upside Down.
On top of its successful blend of 80s nostalgia and terror, Stranger Things is very much a coming-of-age story; following the inhabitants of Hawkins, Indiana. Both its actors and characters have grown with every season, leading to inevitable disagreements between their ages. Being put in 1983, the initial season sees its younger characters in middle school and Nancy, Jonathan, and Steve in high school. The latter has since graduated and also the former are about to be freshmen by the end of season 3. Stranger Things is rated TV-14; however, each season has upped things such as violence and swearing as its characters’ voices are broken.
ET lately touched base with Stranger Things’ Matarazzo about the highly-anticipated fourth year. When asked to describe the tone of the season, the today 18-year-old performer explained the show does mature with its cast and cited the Duffer brothers’ ability to incorporate the growing pains of both the actors and their personalities:
“I think that the tone is definitely matured for sure,” stated Matarazzo. “They do this on purpose because I think they need their show to mature with their kids. As we are growing older as people, we must grow older as personalities. They are confronted by this matter, but they embrace it, and they use it to their benefit. And they don’t freak out when we get taller or when our voices drop or anything like that. They utilize it and they use it as ammunition to get their writing. It is incredible what they can do. Working together is just exceptional. Always has been.”
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The third season of Stranger Things premiered in 2019. Production for the fourth season which began early last season faced months of delays on account of the coronavirus pandemic. Happily, filming is currently well underway (but far from finished). It is unclear whether the brand new season will include a time jump to tackle the almost five years that have passed since the filming of year 1. The first trailer for Stranger Things season 4 revealed that Hopper remains alive following last year’s explosive finale. David Harbour has contrasted his character to Gandalf, perhaps either having undergone a different passage of time in the Upside Down or a decent amount of time has passed for everybody.
Stranger Things season 3 finished with Eleven along with the Byers moving away from Hawkins. The fourth season is guaranteed to see them return to Hawkins, even if it’s only temporary. Together with the Russians conducting experiments and the Upside Down and Mind Flayer still in drama, our heroes will be dealing with much more than just the growing pains related to hormonal teens and adulthood. Stranger Things season 4 will also welcome three new series regulars in Jamie Campbell Bower, Eduardo Franco, and Joseph Quinn. Previously, Matarazzo called season 4 that the strangest yet which is saying a lot considering season 3 included a monster made from the”Flayed.”
