It was announced in November 2020 that Hollywood's most iconic horror actor had joined the cast of Stranger Things.
But while the memo was received, it was clearly forgotten, because some fans lost their s**t when they discovered the identity of season four’s creepiest villain.
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While he pops up only momentarily in the new trailer for Stranger Things season four, Robert Englund’s terrifying appearance as Victor Creel is creepy enough to give Freddy Krueger (who Englund famously played in 1984) a run for his money.
Creel emerges towards the end of the three-minute trailer sporting shaggy grey hair, a matching beard and a cheerful grey cardigan. Oh, and his eyes appear to have been cut out, so there’s that.
Fans quickly lost the plot over the character reveal, with one writing (screaming?): “ROBERT ENGLUND IN STRANGER THINGS 4? HORROR FANS WON.”
Another exclaimed: “SO excited to see horror legend Robert Englund in Stranger Things 4.”
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Other equally elated tweets included: “Look at f*****g Robert Englund ya’ll!”, “Robert Englund is such an icon. Can’t wait to see him in Stranger Things 4”, “There's a lot to be excited for in this new trailer but let's cut to the chase - Robert. Englund,” and so on and so forth.
Netflix’s official description of Englund’s character reads as follows: “Robert Englund aka Victor Creel is a disturbed and intimidating man who is imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital for a gruesome murder in the 1950s.”
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Speaking to IGN this month, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed Englund came to them asking for a role.
Matt said: “The fact that he came to us in a season that’s so deeply inspired by the Nightmare series and by his performance, especially in those movies, it felt like fate. It felt like, 'okay, this is meant to be.'"
As for what fans can expect in the blockbuster show’s much-anticipated fourth season, Ross promised mystery a’plenty.
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"So many bad things that have happened in this town that people are starting to question what's going on here," he said.
"The government has attempted to sort of push things under the rug, but that mall fire and all of that, was too big, really, for anyone to ignore. So there's this growing sense of, there is something wrong with this town and some people even saying that it's cursed."
Fan favourites Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) will also be returning for the show’s fourth instalment, as will Joyce (Winona Ryder), Max (Sadie Sink), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Robin (Maya Hawke) and Steve (Joe Keery), among others.
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Volume 1 of Stranger Things season four hits screens on 27 May, with Volume 2 following on 1 July.
Topics: Stranger Things, Netflix, TV and Film