Stranger Things/Season 2

Spoiler Warning! This article or section reveals details from the second season. Read at your own discretion.

Stranger Things 2
Release Date	October 27, 2017
No. of Episodes	9
Premiere	"MadMax"
Finale	"The Lost Brother"
Previous	Season 1
Next	Season 3

Stranger Things 2, the upcoming second season of the Netflix original Stranger Things, is currently in post-production and is set to be released on October 27, 2017.

Stranger Things 2 was confirmed by Netflix on August 31, 2016 for a 2017 release. An announcement trailer revealed the second season will consist of nine episodes as well as showing the working title for each episode. Filming of the season started in Atlanta, Georgia on November 7, 2016.At the 2017 Superbowl, a 30-second ad premiered, revealing footage from the first four to five episodes.

Set in Hawkins in the fall of 1984, the story continues as supernatural forces once again begin to affect the town. While the season will service the first season's core cast and characters first and foremost, several new characters have been revealed: tomboy Max and her older step-brother Billy, a woman named Roman connected to Hawkins Lab, RadioShack manager Bob Newby, Department of Energy agent Dr. Owens and disgraced journalist-turned-conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman.

Storylines

An official season two logline posted with a casting breakdown read: "When terrifying supernatural forces once again begin to affect Hawkins, they realize Will's disappearance was only the beginning. And so the adventure continues..."

During a panel at New York Comic Con, David Harbour revealed that season two might further explore the death of Hopper's daughter Sarah. He also said the love triangle between Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan will continue.

Producer and director Shawn Levy described the season as being about "this determined desire to return to normalcy in Hawkins, in the Byers family, in that group of friends, and it’s the struggle to reclaim normalcy and maybe the impossibility of it.”

The announcement trailer revealed that the season will be set in the fall of 1984, a year after the previous season. Matt Duffer said "we will venture a little bit outside of Hawkins," adding that the opening scene will not take place in the fictional town.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Duffers and cast members revealed more plot details. They explained that Will's visions of the Upside Down may be real, or could be a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. Hopper will be trying to keep the events of the previous year covered up in order to protect the kids and Joyce. Meanwhile, Nancy and Mike will be mourning the loss of their friends, Barb and Eleven. Max will befriend the boys and attract the romantic interest of Dustin and Lucas, while her step-brother, Billy, is hinted to be a possible antagonist. Dustin will also bond with a polliwog-like creature that's "not from this planet or this dimension".

While Eleven's exact role in the season is still unknown, Matt Duffer teased she will play a major part, saying: "We do get into her story and backstory. We learn about where she came from and how she came into the world and the program that resulted in her.” Millie Bobby Brown also stated that her storyline will be an "emotional transition."

Cast and characters

Confirmed cast

• Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers
• David Harbour as Jim Hopper
• Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler
• Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
• Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson
• Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair
• Noah Schnapp as Will Byers
• Sadie Sink as Max
• Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler
• Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers
• Joe Keery as Steve Harrington
• Dacre Montgomery as Billy
• Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler
• Linnea Berthelsen as Roman
• Sean Astin as Bob Newby
• Paul Reiser as Dr. Owens
• Chelsea Talmadge as Carol
• Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman
• Will Chase as Neil Mayfield

Episodes

Titles are still subject to change before the release.

#	Image	Title	Director	Writers
9		"MadMax"	The Duffer Brothers	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
10		"The Boy Who Came Back to Life"	The Duffer Brothers	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
11		"The Pumpkin Patch"	Shawn Levy	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
12		"The Palace"	Shawn Levy	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
13		"The Storm"	Andrew Stanton	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
14		"The Pollywog"	Andrew Stanton	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
15		"The Secret Cabin"	Rebecca Thomas	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
16		"The Brain"	The Duffer Brothers	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.
17		"The Lost Brother"	The Duffer Brothers	TBA
		Synopsis to be announced.

Influences

Seeing season two as a blockbuster movie sequel, the Duffer Brothers stated that "the [sequels] we look up to aspire to pivot and do something different," naming Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and James Cameron's Aliens and Terminator 2 as examples. Matt Duffer said "I think we kinda looked to [James Cameron] and what he does and tried to capture a little bit of the magic of his work." Shawn Levy said they also noted Empire Strikes Back as a sequel that worked.

Development

Season two was green-lit by Netflix before the first season premiered on July 15, 2016. Ross and Matt Duffer spent the summer writing in a rental in Lake Hollywood, which they set up as a writers room. The second season was announced to the public at the end of August. The producers had already mapped it out and gotten a broad understanding of what it would look like, while the actual writing was still "very much in process." The Duffers said they were "nearly ready" to wrap up writing and move on to casting and pre-production at the end of September.

The actors had received the first couple of scripts by early October.

Crew

The writers from season one, including Justin Doble and Jessie Nickson, have been kept on board, while writers' assistant Paul Dichter was promoted to staff writer.

Just like for the previous season, the Duffer Brothers directed the first two episodes while Shawn Levy directed the third and fourth. Levy prepared around Thanksgiving and filmed his episodes through December and January. Andrew Stanton, most well known as a director and screenwriter for Pixar Animation Studios, directed the fifth and sixth episodes. On March 22, Stanton announced he had finished directing his episodes.

Casting

Executive producer Shawn Levy said they will service the core group first and foremost, while also adding a handful of new characters.

During a panel at New York Comic Con, David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown heavily implied that Eleven would return. After rumors that Eleven's return was confirmed had circled on the internet for over a week, it was officially confirmed on November 4 when a photo of a table read, where Brown was present, was posted on the official Facebook and Twitter accounts.

When asked if fan-favorite Barb would return for the second season, the Duffer Brothers stated that they "can't see it happening," but promised there would be justice for her character. They also suggested that Dr. Brenner, whose fate was left open-ended in season one, would be seen again.

New cast members Dacre Montgomery (Billy) and Sadie Sink (Max).

The Duffer Brothers revealed in an interview that four new characters will be introduced. They later added that the characters are Billy, Max and two new adults: one is involved in Joyce's life, whereas the other is involved in the labs.

In a casting breakdown obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, two regular characters and one potential regular character was revealed with a name and description: Max, a tough and confident 13-year-old tomboy with a tough past; Roman, male or female aged 30-38, an outsider with a troubled childhood; and Billy, Max's super muscular, overconfident step-brother, who has a violent and unpredictable nature. Matt Duffer said they did a "wide, wide search for one new kid that we're adding. She's a cool new character," most likely alluding to the character Max.

On October 14, 2016 it was announced that Sadie Sink had landed the role of Max and Dacre Montgomery had been cast as her step-brother Billy. Additionally, Noah Schnapp and Joe Keery were promoted from recurring to regular cast members.

Linnea Berthelsen, Sean Astin and Paul Reiser.

Three new additions to the cast were announced on November 7, 2016. Danish actress Linnea Berthelsen was cast in the role of Roman, who was revealed to be the adult character "mysteriously connected to the supernatural events at the lab." Sean Astin was cast as Bob Newby, a nerd who formerly went to high school with Joyce and Hopper and now manages the local RadioShack. Paul Reiser was cast as Dr. Owens, "a high-ranking member within the Department of Energy on a ‘clean-up’ assignment, tasked with containing the events of last year.”

On November 18, 2016 The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Brett Gelman had joined the cast as Murray Bauman, "a disgraced journalist-turned-conspiracy theorist who is investigating a cold case in Hawkins."

Casting TaylorMade, the company that handled extras casting for season one, were brought on for season two. They posted a casting call looking for males and females ages 17 and older with 1980s hair styles, as well as vehicles from the period, with filming "beginning this November."

On May 3, 2017, TV Line reported that actor-singer Will Chase had been cast as Neil Mayfield, who was described as "the father of a family of recent transplants to Hawkins, Indiana from California."

Production

Cast members at a table read for Stranger Things Season Two.

On October 31, David Harbour posted a picture of himself in his Chief Hopper costume with the caption "Hopper's back," confirming that he was back on production.

In the first week of November 2016, table reads for a "bunch of episodes" started. The season was officially confirmed to be in production on November 4, 2016 in a social media post by Stranger Things. It was accompanied by a photo of some of the cast members at a table read.

At the beginning of May 2017, Finn Wolfhard told Emmy Magazine that the second season would be much darker and more horror-oriented than the first.

Filming

Filming of the season started on November 7, 2016.

An extras casting call revealed that filming was planned for November 11, 15, 16 and 18 for scenes at the Middle School and November 14, 15 and 16 and December 8 at the High School.

November 14: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo on set in Atlanta.

On November 14, 2016 photos of the cast on set in Atlanta were published. Seen in the photos were the main cast of kids and teens from the previous season, minus Millie Bobby Brown and Natalia Dyer, though who appeared to be a body double for Nancy was present. Chelsea Talmadge, who portrays the recurring character Carol, was also present. None of the new cast members were spotted, but the names Max and Billy were seen on the cast trailers, implying that newcomers Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery were present that day.

By early April, the final two episodes had commenced filming, shooting scenes in woodland seen previously in Season 1. On June 3, filming for the season officially wrapped.

Music

Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein are currently composing and scoring for the season.

Marketing

Announcement Trailer

The characters' new looks in Stranger Things 2 on the cover of EW Magazine

The season was announced in a trailer published across social media on August 31, 2016, listing the titles of the episodes. Netflix was initially going to use a trailer with content from the first season and had the idea to announce the season using the title sequence, but the idea to include the chapter titles came from the Duffer Brothers. Matt Duffer said they had titles they didn't want to add to the trailer because they were too revealing, and some of the announced titles are still subject to change.

Superbowl Spot

At the 2017 Superbowl, a 30-second ad premiered, revealing footage from the first four to five episodes. The footage included the Season 1 characters Eleven, Hopper, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, Will and Joyce, and teased a new supernatural threat to Hawkins.

The ad also announced that the season would be released on Halloween (October 31). However, the release date was later changed to October 27.

San Diego Comic-Con

Netflix scheduled a Stranger Things panel for the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con with the show's cast and creators. The panel revealed the season's first full-length trailer featuring never before seen footage.

Retro posters

As part of the online marketing campaign for Season 2, the show's social media accounts released a variety of posters featuring Season 1 characters and elements. These posters served as homages to 1980's cinema, the principal influence on the show.

Based on the poster for the film Firestarter

Based on the poster for the film Alien

Based on the poster for the film The Evil Dead

Based on the poster for the film Jaws

Based on the poster for the film The Running Man

Based on the poster for the film A Nightmare on Elm Street

Based on the poster for the film Stand By Me

Trailers

Stranger Things 2 - Netflix

Stranger Things 2' Teaser Trailer

Stranger Things 2 - Super Bowl 2017 Ad

Stranger Things 2 Super Bowl Teaser

Stranger Things Season 2 Comic Con "Thriller" Trailer HD Netflix