Entertainment

Back to the Upside Down! Stranger Things to return to screens

The wait is almost over…
The wait is almost over… The wait is almost over…

Stranger Things fans will be able to binge on the sci-fi horror once again when the series finally returns on Friday.

The hit Netflix show returns to the streaming service four days before Halloween, more than a year after it debuted in July 2016, and will see its ensemble cast – including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard – back in their roles as the residents of fictional town Hawkins, Indiana.

Set in 1983, the first season told the tale of the disappearance of 12-year-old Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and how his friends, his unsettled mother Joyce (Ryder) and his brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) try to find him.

However, this is no normal missing person case, and it soon becomes apparent that there are darker spirits at play here, bolstered by the mysterious appearance of a psychokinetic girl called Eleven (Brown), the experiments in the secretive Hawkins Lab and the mysterious messages sent from Will from his paranormal prison – a creepy underworld known as the Upside Down.

The second season picks up a year after the horrific events of the first, and sees the Hawkins residents struggle to come to terms with what they went through.

And, while Will is safely back at home, he is still plagued by his experiences, and there remains a sinister threat hanging over them all.

Fans have been left chomping at the bit as trailers have been released in recent days ahead of the show’s return, drip-feeding more details about season two.

Stranger Things 2
Stranger Things 2 (Courtesy Netflix )
Stranger Things 2, starring Gaten Matarazzo, Winona Ryder, Sadie Sink and Noah Schnapp (Netflix)

While initially thought to be more of a cult offering thanks to its many pop culture references to the 1980s era and the horror genres of the time, as well as its nostalgic soundtrack and special effects, Stranger Things managed to capture the imagination of the global audience.

It prompted plenty of online chatter as fans tore open theories about the Upside Down and its monster, dubbed the Demogorgon by Will’s friends Mike Wheeler (Wolfhard), Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) and Lucas Sinclair (Caleb McLaughlin).

Natalia Dyer, who plays Nancy Wheeler – the older sister of Mike – said she is very excited for the second season to finally land, as they started filming in November last year.

Dyer also said she hopes Stranger Things 2 meets the expectations of its millions of fans all over the world.

She told the Press Association of the show’s return: “It’s very, very exciting – the funny thing is, it was a while ago that we filmed it, and it’s kind of like, ‘wow I can’t believe that’s not out yet!’

“So I’m excited that everyone can finally see it, it’ll be good! I think because last year, nobody knew what we were doing, what the show was really, there was no other stuff beforehand either.

Stranger Things 2
Stranger Things 2 (Courtesy Netflix)
Stranger Things 2, starring Charlie Heaton, Paul Reiser and Natalia Dyer (Netflix)

“I hope that fans like it, that you do right by them, you hope that it meets, or exceeds, expectations.”

She added, speaking of the show’s writers the Duffer Brothers: “I feel good about it, I trust the Duffer Brothers, they are so good and they really care about the show, I feel like they’re only going to put out good stuff.”

Dyer said that, while she is looking forward to the show’s release, she is “a little nervous” over the fan reaction.

Stranger Things 2 lands on Netflix on Friday October 27.