A fourth season of Netflix's popular sci-fi show Stranger Things is in the works, but since it's been more than two years now since the release of Season 3, some are wondering what's causing the holdup? Director and producer Shawn Levy told Collider that Season 4 has taken longer than expected due in part to the pandemic and the team's bigger creative ambitions.

　　"As much as it pains our viewers that it will have been so long, trust me, it pains [creators Matt and Ross Duffer], and I more," Levy said. "It is a kind of perfect storm combination of COVID shutdown, slower pace of filming in COVID protocols and health protocols, which are necessary, and coincidentally we chose Season 4 to be by far--and I mean, by far, far, far--the most ambitious of the seasons."

　　Season 4 goes bigger with its scale by extending beyond Hawkins. There was a teaser that showed David Harbour's Hopper character in Lithuania, while other elements of the show will take place outside of its normal setting, Levy said.

　　"So you kind of know we've got some action in Hawkins, we’ve got some action apparently in Russia, and we have an entire storyline set elsewhere that will soon come to light," he teased. "So this is the first season where we have this sprawling geography, multiple location shoots, and we're doing it all against a backdrop of a world that has made filming slower longer in delay. So that's why it's taking so long."

　　Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, and Joe Keery are all returning for Season 4, while there are plenty of newcomers, too.