Stranger Things season 4 to be released in two parts as dates and final season announced

‘Every ending has a beginning’

Stranger Things season four will release in two parts this year, it has been announced.

In a statement shared to social media, the hit Netflix sci-fi series revealed it would be returning to screens in three months’ time, splitting its season over two “volumes”.

Volume one will be released on 27 May. Five weeks later, on 1 July, the second volume will be released.

It was also announced that this season will be the penultimate one, with season five serving as Stranger Things’ last.

“With nine scripts, over 800 pages, almost two years of filming, thousands of visual effects shots, and a runtime nearly twice the length of any previous season, Stranger Things 4 was the most challenging season yet, but also the most rewarding one,” wrote creators Matt and Ross Duffer.

“There are still many more exciting stories to tell within the world of Stranger Things: new mysteries, new adventures, new unexpected heroes.”

Netflix has also released the first posters for Stranger Things 4.

The hit sci-fi series has been away from screens since 2019, having left viewers on a cliffhanger surrounding one of the series’ major characters.

David Harbour’s character Sherriff Hopper had seemingly been killed off during the end of Stranger Things’ third season.

The first of four new posters appears to show a very much alive Hopper breaking out of a snow-covered Russian jail, beneath the tagline: “Every ending has a beginning.”

Netflix had previously confirmed that the popular character would be returning for the new series, with Harbour featuring in a teaser for the new season released last year.

Among the other actors to return for this year’s series are Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Cara Buono and Joe Keery.

The second poster shows the inside of a lab, along with what appears to be Millie Bobby Brown’s character, Eleven.

“The Lab. Every story starts somewhere,” read the show’s caption on social media.

A third poster shows a group of the show’s teenage characters in a spooky building. The post is captioned: “Creel House. Tick-tock.”

The fourth poster shows Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and his friends walking down the street towards an ominous supernatural mass in the middle of the road.

A fifth main poster combined the images from all the other posters.

Stranger Things is released on Netflix, and focuses on the paranormal adventures of a group of small-town teenagers in 1980s America.

Seasons one to three can be streamed on Netflix now.