So far, we don’t know too much about Stranger Things season four, other than the fact that Hopper is really, really far away from Hawkins thanks to the events of season three. But some exciting casting news announced today sheds a little more light on what to expect — and who to expect, for that matter.
As the Hollywood Reporter explains, Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund has signed on to play “Victor Creel, a disturbed and intimidating man who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for a gruesome murder in the 1950s.” Sounds like a guy who Freddy Krueger might get along with, though there’s definitely a chance that Stranger Things might be using what the audience already knows about Englund’s filmography to subvert expectations about the character.
No matter how Creel factors into the story, it is very cool to see Stranger Things continue to bring genre favourites from the 1980s into its own nostalgic take on that decade, like it did with Paul Reiser and Sean Astin in season two and even Winona Ryder in the main cast. Englund is slated to be a “recurring” character in the upcoming season of Stranger Things, along with these intriguing folks:
• Tom Wlaschiha (best known as the face-changing Jaqen H’Ghar on Game of Thrones) as Dimitri, a Russian prison guard who befriends Hopper (David Harbour). He’s smart, cunning and charming, but can he be trusted?
• Nikolaj Djuricko as Yuri, a seedy and unpredictable Russian smuggler who loves bad jokes, cold hard cash, and crunchy peanut butter.
• Mason Dye as Jason Carver, a rich sports star whose perfect world begins to unravel in the face of a new evil;
• and Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Sullivan, a no-nonsense man who believes he knows how to stop the evil in Hawkins once and for all.
OK, Russian peanut butter guy, but you’ll never replace the Alexei-with-a-cherry-slushie-sized hole in our hearts!
Other new additions include series regulars played by Harry Potter and Twilight alum Jamie Campbell Bower (he’ll play Peter Ballard, “a caring man who works as an orderly at a psychiatric hospital,” which means he’ll likely intersect with Englund’s character); Booksmart’s Eduardo Franco as “Argyle, a fun-loving stoner who works at Surfer Boy Pizza” (keeping those Fast Times at Ridgemont High vibes from season three alive); and Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson, “a metalhead who runs [the] local Dungeons & Dragons club called the Hellfire Club.”
Stranger Things welcomed these new faces to the weird world of Hawkins with its own “Upside Down” Twitter thread, with a few more character details for good measure:
Eduardo Franco aka Argyle: Jonathan’s new BFF. We stan a fun-loving stoner who proudly delivers delicious pizza pies for Surfer Boy Pizza. pic.twitter.com/CzEJ8fRKWM
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) November 20, 2020
Sherman Augustus aka Lt. Colonel Sullivan. He’s an intelligent, no-nonsense man who believes he knows how to stop the evil in Hawkins once and for all. pic.twitter.com/kCCr1w7jbF
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) November 20, 2020
Tom Wlaschiha aka Dmitri, a smart and charming Russian prison guard. But can he be trusted? pic.twitter.com/oony5ss28t
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) November 20, 2020
Joseph Quinn aka Eddie Munson. He’s the head of the Hawkins High official D&D Club, The Hellfire Club. pic.twitter.com/Hase8xIfsu
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) November 20, 2020
So…Freddy Krueger, heavy metal, stoners, bad jokes, pizza, Jaqen H’Ghar — all this and monsters too? Stranger Things season four can’t get here soon enough! Unfortunately, it’s still in production and there’s no release date set, but we’ll obviously be updating you the instant we learn more.