by: Joshua Outred – Staff Writer

Season 2 of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things is about to begin production, and it’s just added 3 new cast members!

Entertainment Weekly dropped some details on who has been cast, and the characters they’ll be playing. Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Paul Reiser (Aliens) and up and coming Danish actress Linnea Berthelsen will all be joining our friends over in Hawkins, Indiana next year!

According to Netflix, Sean Astin will play Bob Newby, “a kindhearted former nerd who went to highschool with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) and now manages the local Hawkins RadioShack”. Stranger Things is a melting pot of MANY 80’s classics, so it’s nice to see Mikey from Goonies popping up in Hawkins.

Young Danish actress, Linnea Berthelsen will star as Roman, “an emotionally damaged, magnetic young woman who suffered a great loss as a child”. Last but not least, Paul Reiser has been cast as Dr. Owens, “a high-ranking member within the Department of Energy on a ‘clean up’ assignment, tasked with containing the events of last year”. Sounds like a not-so-subtle nod to Resier’s slimey character from 1986’s Aliens

I hope they don’t go too far with the 80’s stunt casting. One of the biggest things about the first season of Stranger Things was that outside of Winona Ryder and David Harbour the cast was comprised of unknowns who managed to surprise us with their chops. I worry that too many of these cute casting choices will distract from the story.

For right now these are very exciting casting additions, and I’m most intrigued by the young Danish actress, Linnea, and her character, whose description sounds very familiar to break-out star, Millie Bobby Brown’s, Eleven. The character of Dr. Owens also sounds fascinating, it’s not shocking to learn that a major cover up operation went into play after the revelations and discoveries last season.

We’ll have to wait to find out more, as season 2 is scheduled for release sometime next year!