Stranger Things is staying in character by casting stars from some of the biggest movies of the ’80s. Entertainment Weekly reports that Netflix has cast Sean Astin and Paul Reiser for Season 2 of the smash hit series, which is set in the 1980s; pays homage to ’80s films like E.T., Carrie, and Firestarter; and cast Winona Ryder, who rose to fame in the ’80s, for its first season.
Astin is the Hollywood veteran who played Mikey in the 1985 classic The Goonies, then went on to star in Rudy and the Lord of the Rings franchise. Reiser is a stand-up comic who played the villainous executive Carter Burke in the 1986 Alien sequel Aliens, and went on to star in the sitcom Mad About You.
Astin will reportedly play Bob Newby, "a kindhearted former nerd who went to high school with Joyce (Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) and now manages the local Hawkins RadioShack," while Reiser will play Dr. Owens, a Department of Energy guy, and possible villain stepping into the void left by the (probably) departed Dr. Brenner.
The show also has a newcomer in Linnea Berthelsen, who will play Roman, a "damaged, magnetic young woman who ... is mysteriously connected to the supernatural events at the lab... ."
All of this points to the second season's storyline being closely related to the events of the first season, which makes sense since it has been reported that Millie Bobby Brown, who was the breakout star of the first season as Eleven, is set to return to the show.
The hit series was credited by Netflix for helping the streaming company make more money in 2016 than it ever had before.
