Stranger Things 4 Producer Shawn Levy Teases How New Season Sets up the Netflix Finale

After a three year wait, a new batch of Stranger Things episodes has been unveiled to the masses, taking bingers on another trip to the Upside Down and beyond. Season Four is being split into two different volumes, a seven-episode set that was released over the weekend and two extended episodes that will hit Netflix on the first of July. Producer Shawn Levy says he’s gotten to see the final two episodes of the season, and applauds the gut punch they’ll bring to fans of the series.

“I’ll just tell you that we are hard at work on volume two. There’s so much being written as far as the runtimes of these episodes, and the hefty runtime of episode nine, in particular,” Levy said in an extensive interview with THR. “Having seen both those finale episodes, they are as emotional as they are cinematic. Holy shit, they are definitely a treat for the eyes, but they punch you right in the heart. So, that’s what I’ll say about that.”

As far as how this all leads into Season 5 — the final season for the Netflix hit — Levy added they’re trying to stick the landing with every single episode of the upcoming season.

“Ending next season is all about finishing strong. We have phenomenal ideas for season five, and we don’t want to stick around past the point where we see our path with clarity and confidence. So, season five will no doubt be epic,” the filmmaker said. “It will be bittersweet for us to shoot and very bittersweet for audiences to watch. But hopefully, it’s also deeply satisfying because as we all know, as fans of many other shows, there’s few feelings as crummy as an unsatisfying ending — and there’s no chance in hell that we are going to give our passionate, loyal fans anything less than a deeply satisfying close in the final chapter.”

Stranger Things 4 stars Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven/Jane), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner), Robert Englund (Victor Creel), and Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna). 

Stranger Things 4: Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Stranger Things 4: Volume 2 premieres July 1.