'Stranger Things' Creators Explain Why They Decided to Split Season 4 Into Two Parts

Matt and Ross Duffer are giving fans some insight into season 4 of Stranger Things!

The two brothers, who created the hit Netflix series, spoke with Variety about their decision to split the new season into two parts, as well as what some of their goals were for the new episodes.

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Matt and Ross shared that while they wanted season 3 to be a “big, colorful summer blockbuster, with comedy, action, spectacle,” season 4 was decidedly darker in tone.

“Our kids aren’t kids anymore, so we wanted to put them in the middle of a horror film — one that was more psychological in tone. We talked a lot about A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser and the It miniseries, which completely traumatized us when it first came out,” they shared.

The pair also said that while their original plan was to release the full season all at once, “everyone began to feel the season was too big to be released in one batch.”

“We discussed various release options with Ted [Sarandos], and early on he proposed the two volume split, which would allow us to break up the season while also staying true to Netflix’s binge model,” they explained.

Matt and Ross added,” We always knew that Season 4 was going to be the penultimate season, and that its ending would dovetail directly into Season 5. During the six month pandemic hiatus, we outlined Season 5 and pitched it to Netflix. Everyone there had also been present when we first pitched the show in 2015. While we were strangers then, we were now friends and there were a lot of tears when it was over. It’s just been an extraordinary journey for all of us, and while it’s hard to believe that we’re approaching the end, we feel incredibly lucky to have such amazing partners.”

As for whether there would be as long of a wait between season 4 and season 5 as there was between season 3 and season 4, the brothers said that “the gap should be quite a bit shorter this time.”

They also teased that there could be a Stranger Things spinoff in the works. “We do have an idea for a spinoff that we’re super excited about… but we haven’t told anyone the idea yet, much less written it. We think everyone — including Netflix — will be surprised when they hear the concept, because it’s very, very different,” Matt and Ross said. “But somehow Finn Wolfhard — who is one crazy smart kid — correctly guessed what it was going to be about. But aside from Finn, no one else knows!”

Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 premieres May 27th, only on Netflix. Check out the latest trailer here!