Millie Bobby Brown is back as the telekinetically powered Eleven in Stranger Things 4. As the fourth season is nearly upon us, we can look back at where we left our young band of heroes at the end of the last season. Eleven and the gang managed to take on and defeat the Demogorgon whilst shutting down the secret Russian military base residing beneath The Starcourt Mall with the apparent loss of Jim Hopper (who we now know is in a Russian prison) and the death of Billy. The gang were split up as Eleven left Hawkins along with the Byers family, and though they moved far away from the town and their friends, it appears their troubles are not far behind.
Eleven has already had a pretty horrific time of it, spending her childhood locked up as a government experiment only to escape and face the horrors of the Upside Down, a world colliding with her own as a result of those experiments. She has faced monsters, Demogorgons, the Russian military, the loss of her father figure, Hopper, losing her powers, and leaving her love and friends behind…. but according to Brown, it’s only going to get darker.
Speaking to Collider, Brown discussed filming the upcoming season and how it was one of the hardest seasons she has faced yet.
“I’m reading the script and I see Finn and some of the other characters having such a fun time, and you get to see Eleven in the darkest state she’s ever been. This has definitely been the hardest season I’ve ever filmed, and there have been some of the scariest things that I’ve ever seen as a human, which you guys will get to see for sure. I’ll get to tell more stories and touch on my experiences as a person filming on the set with these legitimate scary things.”
Considering the way season three left off, we already know going forward just how much she has to process, and if all of that wasn’t enough of an emotional roller coaster for the character, she now has to navigate the hellish hallways of high school. But of course, show creators the Duffer brothers won’t be leaving it there, Stranger Things is hardly Stranger Things without the threat of monsters, dark dimensions and Demogorgons.
Finn Wolfhard, who plays Eleven’s romantic interest, Mike, added that “the Duffers love dark. They love horror stuff. They love evil, dead stuff, and I think they had to prove themselves and have all audiences be able to watch it and not be too safe.” This season is slated to be the penultimate for the series, which will end on season five, so the Duffer brothers will be revving up for what should be a spectacularly horrific final season.
Stranger Things 4 Volume 1 will be available on Netflix May 27, with Volume 2 coming on July 1, 2022.