New Stranger Things season 4 cast members announced
A six-part podcast and novel are also on the way
The cast of Stranger Things season 4 has grown.
The fourth installment of the much-loved sci-fi series will include four new characters. Netflix unveiled the news at the GEEKED Week event, with the Duffer brothers introducing Anne With An E's Amybeth McNulty, who is joining the cast as Vicky, described as a "cool, fast-talking band nerd who catches the eye of one of our beloved heroes."
Meanwhile, Miles Truitt will play Patrick, "a Hawkins basketball star who has friends, talent, and a good life, until shocking events send his life spiralling out of control." Regina Ting Chen joins as Ms Kelly, "a popular guidance counsellor who cares deeply for her students, especially those struggling the most." Finally, Grace Van Dien is Chrissie: "The lead cheerleader at Hawkins High and the most popular girl in school. But beneath the seemingly perfect surface lies a dark secret."
Along with the casting news, it was also revealed that a Stranger Things podcast named Surviving Hawkins will be launching. It will act as a prequel, and will be a fiction story focused on Maya Hawke's Robin – and there's also a novel titled Rebel Robin on the way. A teaser from the podcast was played at the event.
There's still no release date for Stranger Things season 4, as the pandemic has slowed things down considerably. An ominous teaser which hints at Eleven's past, and features the voice of Matthew Modine's Dr. Brenner, was recently released to tide you over, though.
We also know that the upcoming season will be scary – Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, has described season 4 as "the scariest" yet. Mike Wheeler actor Finn Wolfhard has also indicated that he expects season 4 to arrive in 2022.
A huge mystery surrounding season 4 is how exactly David Harbour's Hopper is still alive – and unfortunately it seems we'll have a while longer to wait before we can head back to Hawkins and find out what exactly is going on. You can next see Harbour in this summer's Black Widow, which arrives July 9.
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While you wait for more Stranger Things, check out our roundup of the best Netflix shows streaming now to fill up your watchlist.
I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.