Netflix has released the first trailer for the long-awaited fourth season of Stranger Things. And in it, Dr. Sam Owens, former acting head of th Hawkins National Laboratory, sits Eleven down for a heart to heart and tells her that, despite her powers being gone, “Without you, we can’t win this war.”

Trailer park

This season’s story is sprawling, with a large number of characters and locations. Though the story will presumably return to the Upside Down and catch up with Jim Hopper in Russia, Stranger Things’ first season four trailer makes shows that a good chunk of the show’s next chapter will happen in California, where Joyce and the rest of the Byers family have moved.

The official description of Season 4 reads:

It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are 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.

Creators Matt and Ross Duffer have said that the show’s fifth season will be its last.

“Seven years ago, we planned out the complete story arc for Stranger Things,” creators Matt and Ross Duffer wrote in an open letter to fans last month. “At the time, we predicted the story would last four to five seasons. It proved too large to tell in four but — as you’ll see for yourselves — we are now hurtling toward our finale. … It’s been a little while. With nine scripts, over eight-hundred pages, almost two years of filming, thousands of visual effects shots and a runtime nearly twice the length of any previous season, Stranger Things 4 was the most challenging season yet, but also the most rewarding one. Everyone involved is incredibly proud of the results, and we can’t wait to share it with you. Given the unprecedented length, and to get it to you as soon as possible, Season 4 will be released in two volumes.”

The new season stars Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley), Priah Ferguson (Erica Sinclair), Brett Gelman (Murray), Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler) and Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner).

The first part of the season, “Volume 1”, will debut May 27 (three years after season three aired). The second half, “Volume 2”, debut July 1.

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