20 Photos From The Stranger Things Season 4 Premiere To Make You Feel Old

Remember in 2016 when the Stranger Things kids in Season 1 looked like kids? Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp became bona fide stars after the show premiered six years ago, but a lot has changed since then. Need proof? See for yourself in these photos from Season 4’s red carpet premiere in May 2022.

Millie Bobby Brown was only 12 when she captivated audiences as the powerful Eleven. Now 18, Brown jokingly said during the premiere event that “I feel like I don’t need to go to therapy anymore. Gosh, I can actually talk about something that we’ve created.”

Brown attended the event with her boyfriend Jake Bongiovi, son of rocker Jon Bon Jovi.

Wolfhard and Matarazzo were both just 14 when the hit show premiered.

Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in the paranormal series, gave an ominous response when asked about the fate of Mike and Eleven’s romance: “[They’re] just kind of trying to figure themselves out, and whether that’s together or separate, I’m not really sure.”

Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, had a song number in Season 3. When asked by Extra if Dustin will sing again, he said, “I was so surprised they got that little impromptu musical number in to begin with so if we got any more of that, that would be a big shock to me. But who knows?”

McLaughlin promised fans during the premiere that they’ll “get to dive” into his character Lucas’ life and thoughts more this season.

Dyer, who plays Nancy Wheeler, said this season will “get into the mythology of things.” She also teased that she’s there’ll be “some Nancy-Robin stuff” this season which she’s “very excited about.”

Meanwhile, Dyer’s IRL boyfriend, Charlie Heaton, who also plays her onscreen boyfriend Jonathan, spoke about how dark the season is. “It reminds me when I was little, I was watching Nightmare On Elm Street ... I was terrified I couldn’t sleep. I do think we’ve hit that maturity.”

“Will is just finding himself in a new environment with new people and it’s awesome,” Schnapp said. “You guys are gonna love the California stuff.”

On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Schnapp shared that he and his best friend Brown both cried after they found out that the series is wrapping on Season 5. “I was bawling, I was so upset,” he said. “And I texted Millie ... and she was like, ‘You’re crying too? So am I!’”

Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink, who play Robin Buckley and Max Mayfield, both return for Season 4. Hawke teased that her character’s love life gets “marginally better” and befriends Nancy (Natalia Dyer). Meanwhile, Max is in a “different place” than Season 3, as per Sink.

Joseph Quinn joins the cast in Season 4 as Eddie Munson, leader of the mysterious group called the Hellfire Club. He’ll hopefully share scenes with Matarazzo, who was sporting the organization’s slogan shirt on Instagram.

In 2017, Schnapp, McLaughlin, and the rest of the cast won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. They’ve been nominated every season since.

Winona Ryder quickly became a fan-favorite as Joyce Byers, mom to Will and Jonathan. Speaking about fan interactions, she simply said, “I’m Will’s mom; it used to be Beetlejuice. Now, I’m Will’s mom.”

Cara Buono and David Harbour also reprise their roles as Karen Wheeler and Jim Hopper, Eleven’s adoptive father.

Eduardo Franco joins the cast as Argyle, a pizza delivery boy and friend to Jonathan. Discussing his fun new character, Franco calls him Jonathan’s “shrink” whose “advice stems from psychedelics.”

When Priah Ferguson, who plays Lucas’ nerdy sister Erica, was asked who the scariest villain is in Stranger Things, she answered this season’s villain, Vecna.

Hopefully, come Season 4, Schnapp, Harbour, and Matarazzo get more scenes together.