Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMatt and Ross Duffer, aka the Duffer Brothers, decided to break up their nine-episode fourth season of “Stranger Things” in a rather unconventional way.
By now, most fans of the Upside Down surely know that the first portion of the season, which launches Friday, consists of seven super-sized episodes, while Volume 2, which debuts July 1, has only two installments.Though Episodes 8 and 9 are longer than all the episodes that came before them, running at 85 minutes and nearly two and a half hours, respectively, there could still be concerns among viewers that only two episodes does not a second volume make.But the Duffers assured Variety that Episode 7 of “Stranger Things 4” is not just at the level of any previous season closer they have done, but sets up Episodes 8 and 9 in a way that makes the two-episode Volume 2 feel like it can stand alone. “Episode 7 is as big as any season finale we’ve ever had, so it made sense to everyone involved to split the season there,” the Duffers said in a joint email interview. “Episode 7 really serves as the end of the second act — and we feel that our final act had enough meat on the bone to make up Volume 2.”See below for more from Variety‘s “Stranger Things 4” chat with the Duffers.How would you characterize the tonal shift between Seasons 3 and 4? (We will of course accept movie references here!)We wanted Season 3 to be a big, colorful summer blockbuster, with comedy, action, spectacle — and a healthy dose of gore.
Big references for us that year were “Temple of Doom,” “Romancing the Stone” and “Jurassic Park.” But this season, as with every new season, we wanted to do something very different.
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