There is a lot to unpack in the newly released trailer for Stranger Things Season 4, not least of which is the reveal of a monstrous new villain and the revelation that Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink) will seemingly gain superpowers. Released via the official Stranger Things YouTube channel, the trailer seemingly confirms that Max will play a much more central role this time around as the gang is once again set on a collision course with the mysteries and monsters of the Upside Down.

The fourth season of Stranger Things will pick up six months after the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends is separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.

Like everything related to the lore of Stranger Things, the trailer leaves a lot of questions hanging in the air (in Max’s case quite literally), including a stunning moment in which Max seems to levitate off the ground. Much to the surprise of some of her friends. Why has Max been imbued with superpowers similar to Eleven? Could it be to do with Doctor Sam Owens warning Eleven that the fight against the Upside Down will be lost without her and her special abilities? Will Max join Eleven somehow as the powers that be attempt to balance the battle between the Upside Down and the heroes of Hawkins? Or could Max unwittingly walk the same line as her brother Billy, becoming a villain?

Most importantly, why is someone playing guitar amidst the post-apocalyptic grimness of the Upside Down? Let the theories commence.

Stranger Things Season 4 Will Introduce a New Monster

If Max gaining superpowers were not already enough to have you questioning just what on earth is going on in Stranger Things Season 4, the trailer also gives us our first glimpse at a monstrous new villain. Looking much more humanoid than any other beast from the Upside Down we have seen before, the mysterious monster looks like Skeletor-meets-White Walker- meets-H.R. Giger as it lowers itself down ominously using its many tendrils.

So, who is this villain and what does it want? Could this be the ruler of the Upside Down? Is A Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund's character a monster from the Upside Down who has made his way to our side? There is something very 'Freddy Krueger-esque' in the way it brandishes its claws...

Whoever it is, it clearly means business, which can only be bad news for Eleven, Hopper, and the rest of the gang.

Starring Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson and Cara Buono with Brett Gelman, Stranger Things Season 4 will be unleashed upon us in two parts, with the first volume set to premiere on Netflix on May 27, 2022. The second volume will then be released five weeks later on July 1, 2022.