The Duffer Brothers’ Netflix series Stranger Things has become a cultural phenomenon, and fans are clamoring for more. Thankfully, season two has begun production, and Entertainment Weekly released some exclusive new details on additions to the cast. Two of the new characters will be portrayed by actors familiar with the genres Stranger Things pays homage to.
A Genre Veteran
Perhaps the most interesting addition is that of Sean Astin, best known as Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He also played Mikey in the 1985 film The Goonies, which serves as direct inspiration for the misadventures of the gang in Stranger Things. The guys from The Goonies are basically prototypes of the boys in Stranger Things, so Astin will be treading familiar ground. He will play Bob Newby, who Netflix describes as “a kindhearted former nerd who went to high school with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) and now manages the local Hawkins RadioShack.” The protagonists in Stranger Things have quite a love for radios and electronics, so it’s safe to guess that Newby might give them some help contacting the upside-down with his tech savvy.
Good Guy or Bad Guy?
Paul Reiser will also join the cast as Dr. Owens. Netflix describes him as a “high-ranking member within the Department of Energy on a ‘clean-up’ assignment, tasked with containing the events of last year.” That makes it look like Reiser may be this season’s primary antagonist. It’s also interesting given that the Duffers recently told Entertainment Weekly that films like Terminator 2 and Aliens, which Reiser starred in as a villain, serve as inspiration for the second season.
Mysterious Newcomer
Rounding out the new cast additions is Danish actress Linnea Berthelsen. She’s a relative newcomer to American television but will play a major role in the second season of Stranger Things. According to Netflix, she’s “an emotionally damaged, magnetic young woman who suffered a great loss as a child. Although she does not live in Hawkins, she is mysteriously connected to the supernatural events at the lab…” The character, named Roman, could have any number of varied connections to the lab. She could be a psychic like our girl Eleven, or she could even be related to Eleven by blood. (Perhaps even her mother?) We’ll have to wait until Stranger Things returns in 2017 to find out.