Stranger Things Creators: "Everybody's Life Is on the Line" in Season 4 Volume 2

Warning: this story contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4: Volume 1, now streaming on Netflix. After unleashing a horror movie monster on Hawkins, Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers tease more Vecna victims in Season 4: Volume 2. In the super-sized episodes streaming July 1 on Netflix, Upside Down supervillain Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) has cursed Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), now facing the fate that Max (Sadie Sink) narrowly ran up that hill from earlier in Volume 1. Following the violent deaths of cheerleader Chrissy (Grace Van Dien), journalist Fred (Logan Riley Bruner), and jock Patrick (Myles Truitt), Matt and Ross Duffer warn "everybody is in jeopardy" in Stranger Things 4: Volume 2.

"A lot of [the darker tone] was driven by the fact that we had these — I still call them kids, even though I know they're not kids, but they feel like my kids — is that they were heading into high school. And it felt like the right time to put them into a full-blown horror film," Matt Duffer told EW.

"We're dealing with darker themes, and issues that come along with being a teenager, because for at least Ross and I, and I think for most people, high school is a challenging time. And you're experiencing a lot of dark emotions for the first time."

Where the first season took inspiration from Amblin coming-of-age classics like The Goonies and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the fourth season has borrowed from R-rated horrors like A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Hellraiser, and IT. 

"Whereas for us, middle school was such a magical time. And that was why that was reflected in season 1, whereas this has gotten darker," Matt said, adding, "You're feeling a little bit unsettled and unsafe for everybody...that's the intention." 

He continued, "We wanted the whole season to feel like everybody is in jeopardy. And we felt like that was something you couldn't really do as well when they were these cute little kids. But now, you know, everybody's life is on the line." 

As viewers stress about the fates of fan-favorites like Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) and newcomer Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), Ross Duffer noted of Vecna, "This formidable monster that they've come across, he doesn't mess around." Added Matt: "No, he doesn't pull punches." 

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.  

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