It looks as though Stranger Things Season 4 is about to get serious. A new poster teasing Season 4 Part Two depicts Eleven squaring up to the villainous Vecna – a showdown that’s been a long time coming.
The scarred face of Stranger Things Season 4’s big bad is lit by the unmistakable hue of the Upside Down… so, does that mean Eleven will be heading into the unknown for a face-off against her own literal and personal demon?
Friday. Friday. Friday. Friday. #StrangerThings4 pic.twitter.com/NvlA1qBiQs
— Netflix (@netflix) June 27, 2022
Spoiler Alert: Stranger Things spoilers follow here
Obviously, Vecna is no joke. We’ve already seen him in action, taking both Chrissy Cunningham and Fred Benson into the Upside Down, not to mention, trying to get his hands on poor Max.
Thankfully, Mike, Will, and the gang figured out a way to pull her back – using music to anchor her in reality and open up a way back to the Rightside Up. But will the same work for Eleven? I can’t help thinking now is the time for Mike to get working on a mix tape…
Either way, Stranger Things Season 4 is definitely going in a much darker direction. The Duffer Brothers even teased a much “darker” finale:
“I don’t really want to say, but I would be concerned about the characters going into Volume 2, for sure,” said Ross Duffer. “I hope that that is sort of the sense, because it is a darker season and the kids are no longer kids. And there’s sort of an ominous feeling that things might not go well. Now, whether they do or not, you’ll have to watch.”
Whether or not that means Eleven isn’t exactly safe remains to be seen.
But it looks as though she’s going to face her biggest challenge yet when it comes to fighting Vecna.
Read more about Stranger Things Season 4 with our guide to everything we know about Vecna, not to mention our biggest questions going into the season finale.
Stranger Things stars Milly Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Maya Hawke, Joseph Quinn, and Jamie Campbell Bower.
The Duffer Brothers created the series, producing Season 4 alongside Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson, and Curtis Gwinn.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.