Stranger Things Season 2: Millie Bobby Brown Will Return as Eleven

Netflix’s Stranger Things has abruptly emerged from the proverbial Upside Down to take its place as a pop-culture phenomenon. It also happens to be one of the streaming outlet’s biggest hits ever with a reported 8.2 million people watching Season 1 in its first 16 days; a feat that apparently surpasses Netflix’s popular Marvel shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones and even its news-headline-generating Making a Murderer documentary series. Thus, the confirmation of Stranger ThingsSeason 2 wasn’t exactly surprising.

And speaking of things that surprise absolutely nobody, TV Linehas confirmed that Millie Bobby Brown will return as Eleven for Stranger ThingsSeason 2. Perhaps they saw all those Eleven cosplayers at New York Comic Con (there were so many!) or Eleven Halloween costumes (my local supermarket was stripped clean of Eggos) and realized that there would be riots if this didn't happen.

Stranger Things Season 2 Story

Creators Matt and Ross Duffer promise a similarly disciplined approach as Season 1, while delving deeper into the mythology of the 1980’s-set series that will reportedly even take a field trip outside its small Indiana town of Hawkins. Of course, an obligatory return trip to the Upside Down is also in the cards, with more bizarre creatures possibly lurking.

Executive producer Shawn Levy recently spoke with Southern California Public Radio, and promises that they will rise to the occasion. "It’s scary to have people love something this much," he said (transcribed quotes via Collider). "It becomes impossible to banish all thoughts of not wanting to disappoint. This has been the challenge of it: on the one hand as we’ve see in the movie world, to do a follow-up that feels like the same thing is disappointing to an audience; to abandon things or change things [from the original], that disappoints the audience."

But this is the most promising bit. "A lot of Season 2 is next-level, some crazy stuff, but we must service these characters who are now beloved, who are known to the audience."

We can handle some "next level crazy stuff!"

Stranger Things Season 2 Characters

According to TV Line, the cast of Stranger Things will be growing with the addition of three new major characters. 

Sadie Sink will play Max, "a tough and confident girl whose appearance, behavior and pursuits seem more typical of boys than of girls in this era. She has a complicated history and is generally suspicious of those around her." 

Interestingly enough, with the recent Season 2 teaser trailer rolling out a list of the episode names, the title “Madmax” seemingly makes more sense in light of this revelation. Compounding her contemporaneous rebellion against gender norms, Max will also apparently get around town on a skateboard.

Dacre Montgomery will play Billy, "Max's hyper-confident and edgy older step-brother. He steals girlfriends away from their boyfriends, is great at drinking games and drives a black Camaro. But lurking under his apparent charisma, is a violent and unpredictable nature." 

Both of the above casting descriptions come via The Hollywood Reporter. THR also has word that both Joe Kerry and Noah Schnapp have been promoted to series regulars for Stranger Things season 2, so expect a lot more of Steve Harrington and Will Byers this time around!

Clearly the vaguest description of the three, Roman is described as gender-neutral thirtysomething. However, the crux of this character's arc seems to reside in what is described as a “great loss at an early age.” This mysterious tragedy (perhaps involving the Upside Down?) sets a path for revenge.

Stranger Things Season 2 Trailer

There are two types of television viewer this summer: those who have seen Stranger Things and can’t stop recommending it to their friends, family, and co-workers and those who haven’t see it yet but are constantly being bugged to start streaming it immediately. 

But Netflix has just officially revealed that Stranger Things Season 2 is a go, and this one will take place in the Fall of 1984 (season one took place in November of 1983). It will arrive in 2017.

Check out the teaser:

Stranger Things creators and showrunners the Duffer Brothers have started talking about what to expect from the next season, as well. For one thing, they told Entertainment Weekly to expect four new characters this time around.

If Spielberg, Cronenberg, and Carpenter were the most notable influences on season one, expect to feel some James Cameron in season two. I think one of the reasons his [James Cameron's] sequels are as successful as they are is he makes them feel very different without losing what we loved about the original," Matt Duffer said. "So I think we kinda looked to him and what he does and tried to capture a little bit of the magic of his work.”

They also expect to reveal more about the mysteries of the Upside Down.  We obviously have this gate to another dimension, which is still very much open in the town of Hawkins," Matt Dawkins said. "And a lot of questions there in terms of, if the Monster is dead, was it a singular monster? What else could be out there?"

They're playing coy about a few things, though."We don’t know about Eleven,” Ross Duffer says. “We leave that up in the air.”

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Stranger Things Season 2 Release Date

All they've told us so far is that Stranger Things season 2 will arrive in 2017. You can bet we'll let you know as soon as we hear more!

Stranger Things Season 2 Episodes

And they've already released the episode titles, too! The good news is that Stranger Things Season 2 will be a little longer, with a whopping nine episodes this time around. What, not eleven? C'mon!

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 1: Madmax

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 2: The Boy Who Came Back to Life

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 3: The Pumpkin Patch

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 4: The Palace

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 5: The Storm

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 6: The Pollywog

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 7: The Secret Cabin

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 8: The Brain

Stranger Things Season 2 Episode 9: The Lost Brother

Stranger Things was a topic of discussion on the August edition of Sci Fi Fidelity on the Den of Geek Podcast Network. Listen on Soundcloud or simply play the episode below.