Watch These Movies Starring The "Stranger Things" Cast While You Wait For Season 4
Eleven is saving Godzilla and Dustin is a pig from Angry Birds.
Remember the summer of 2019? In the before times? When the only thing we had to worry about was how we were going to binge the whole third season of Stranger Things before reading spoilers?
Wasn’t it so much fun to hang out with Mike and Dustin on their bikes?
With Max and Eleven at the mall?
With the boys at the arcade?
Seeing Eleven (I guess technically Millie Bobby Brown) in the new Godzilla movie reminded me of how much I love Stranger Things.
And how it has now been TWENTY-ONE MONTHS since we’ve got a new episode of Stranger Things, and while they’re filming season four, it might be a while before it arrives on Netflix.
So, while we wait for our favorite posse of 80’s tweens to grace our TV screens, here are the films starring Eleven, Mike, Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will that you can watch to help tide you over.
Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven)
Let’s start with everyone’s favorite bloody nosed super mutant with a penchant for Eggo Waffles.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
MBB made her film debut in this sequel to 2014’s Godzilla playing Madison Russell, the daughter of a paleobiologist who is kidnapped by a group of baddies trying to steal her giant pet moth. Her work in Stranger Things proved that she was an ideal choice to stare at a green screen while pretending it’s a monster. Now streaming on HBO Max.
Enola Holmes (2020)
Netflix loves its Stranger Things cast and teams up with them over and over again. In last year's take on Sherlock Holmes, Millie plays Sherlock’s cheeky, jujitsu-wielding younger sister as she hunts for her missing mother. With mystery, action, and a sprinkle of tween romance, it could help fill the Demogorgon-shaped-hole in your life. Now streaming on Netflix.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
In her latest foray on the big screen, MBB joins up with a rag tag group of misfits to infiltrate a high-tech underground lab where evil scientists are experimenting on terrifying mythical creatures. If that doesn't sound like just the thing you need to watch during the Stranger Things off-season, then I don't know what does. Now available in theaters and on HBO Max.
Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson)
While Gaten is a fan-favorite on Stranger Things and half of the ICONIC Dustin + Steve duo, he is woefully unutilized in film.
The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019)
In his single big screen performance, Gaten voices a green pig for about two minutes. This boy is TALENTED! He’s been on Broadway for goodness sake! Someone put him in a comedy with Tiffany Haddish or Will Ferrell! Now streaming on Netflix.
Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler)
Arguably the most successful of the six Stranger Things kids, Finn has racked up an impressive filmography when he’s not biking around Hawkins, Indiana or touring with his band.
It (2017)
Kids on bikes? Check. 1980’s? Check. Evil Monster hiding underneath a small town and abducting people close to Finn Wolfhard? Check. If you need more Stranger Things and have a slightly higher tolerance for terror, then It is readymade for you. Now streaming on HBO Max.
Dog Days (2018)
If, however, you don’t want to watch evil clowns eat children, you can instead choose this cute movie which tells five different stories all about dogs. Awwww. Finn, who is joined by Eva Longoria, Nina Dobrev, and HSM royalty Vanessa Hudgens, plays a pizza delivery boy. Now streaming on Hulu.
Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018)
In this, the third film in the quirky Canadian Howard Lovecraft series, Finn has a small voice role playing the dutiful son of Christopher Plummer’s mad scientist Dr. Jeffrey West. Yes it’s a movie with monsters (sensing a trend?) but they are cute monsters. Now streaming on Pluto TV, Tubi, Vudu, and Crackle.
It: Chapter Two (2019)
The murderous clown is back! In the It sequel, Finn returns for a few flashback scenes in which he is digitally de-aged to look like the 2016 version of himself. Hollywood’s obsession with youth has really gone too far. LEAVE FINN ALONE! HE WAS A CHILD! Now streaming on HBO Max.
The Goldfinch (2019)
But also as they say in Hollywood, “Never too young to play a drug addict!” Finn plays a Russian drug dealer/petty criminal/general bad influence in this largely unseen adaption of Donna Tartt’s novel. If you want to watch children wander around the outskirts of Las Vegas for two hours, this might be your movie. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
The Addams Family (2019)
Another animated film. In this one, Finn plays Pugsley Addams (I would argue the least famous Addams) alongside Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Snoop Dogg, and Bette Midler. Kids must have loved it, because there is a sequel coming out later this year. Now streaming on Hulu.
The Turning (2020)
In one of the few pre-pandemic 2020 films (which I saw IN THEATERS! CAN YOU IMAGINE!), Finn and The Florida Project’s Brooklynn Prince wreak havoc on their poor unsuspecting babysitter. Finn is real creepy here and stomps a fish to death, so watch at your own peril. Now streaming on Showtime.
Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair)
I don’t know where the time has gone, but Caleb is now somehow nineteen and, according to Instagram, has a six-pack and a goatee. Is the next season of Stranger Things going to be set at college?
High Flying Bird (2019)
Caleb, like Gaten, has been criminally underused in films. Which casting director do I need to yell at? In this Steven Soderbergh sports drama on Netflix, Caleb shows up briefly as a member of a youth basketball team. Now streaming on Netflix.
Concrete Cowboy (2020)
In another Netflix project, Caleb plays the estranged son of Idris Elba, who shows him how to be an urban cowboy. Finally a lead role worthy of a Stranger Things star! The pair ride horses around the city and lift viewers’ spirits. Now streaming on Netflix.
Noah Schnapp (Will Byers)
The baby of the group, Noah (or “WILL!” if you’re Winona Ryder shouting at a strand of Christmas lights) has been scooping up roles since before breaking out in Stranger Things.
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Pre-being snatched away to the Upside Down, Noah played Tom Hanks’s son in this Oscar-nominated Cold War drama. Noah didn’t land a supporting actor nomination from the Academy but maybe that is on the horizon. Now available to rent on Video On Demand.
The Peanuts Movie (2015)
In another pre-Stranger Things role, Noah nabbed the lead in the animated Peanuts reboot playing the infamously bad football kicker, Charlie Brown. Like Stranger Things, it focuses on a group of kids. Unlike Stranger Things, no one has to watch their mom’s boyfriend be eaten while fleeing a top secret evil lab. Now streaming on Disney+.
We Only Know So Much (2018)
A moppy headed Noah plays the young son of Jeanne Tripplehorn and Damian Young in this adult drama about a middle-aged couple who move in to take care of their aging parents. Now that I think about it, Stranger Things could honestly use a rogue grandma somewhere in the mix. Now available to rent on Video on Demand.
The Legends of Hallowaiian (2018)
In possibly the most ridiculous film on this list, Noah voices a Hawaiian surfer in this animated film made by…wait for it…King’s Hawaiian. Yes. That King’s Hawaiian. The company that makes the delicious airy dinner rolls that I guilty buy for myself and secretly eat where my roommates can’t see also is now making children’s films. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Abe (2020)
Move over Masterchef children. We’ve got a new young chef in the kitchen. In this film, Noah plays a blossoming culinary protégé set on connecting his half Israeli/half Palestinian family through the power of yummy food. Meanwhile, I am successfully uniting my family through the power of Kings Hawaiian sweet rolls. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Waiting for Anya (2020)
Awwwww little old Noah in a beret and cape playing a French shepherd! What’s not to love? In this World War II film, Noah and Anjelica Huston help to smuggle Jews over the Spanish border and out of the hands of Nazis. Now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Hubie Halloween (2020)
In yet another Netflix/Stranger Things collab (seeing the trend here), Noah pops up in Adam Sandler’s star-studded Halloween comedy. I deeply believe this romp of a film will be the one we show our children during spooky season for years to come, so good on Noah for nabbing a spot as Julie Bowen’s son. Now streaming on Netflix.
Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield)
A late (but much appreciated) addition to “the party,” Sadie has only starred in two seasons of Stranger Things rather than three. That hasn’t stopped her from breaking onto the big screen though.
Chuck (2016)
So you know Rocky Balboa? The character played by Sylvester Stallone? Well supposedly Rocky was based on this guy named Chuck Wepner. And this movie (which is not Rocky) is also based on Chuck. In Chuck (unappetizingly titled The Bleeder in the UK), Chuck and his wife Phyllis (not Adrian) have a daughter named Kimberly (not a son named Rocky Jr.) Sadie plays that daughter. Now available to rent on Video on Demand.
The Glass Castle (2017)
Ready for a tongue twister? In this film adaption of the classic memoir by Jeannette Walls, Sadie Sink plays the child version of Jeannette’s older sister Lori in the flashbacks. Adult Lori is played by none other than Succession’s Sarah Snook. Sadie Sink Sarah Snook. Sadie Sink Sarah Snook. Try saying that ten times fast. Now available to rent on Video On Demand.
Eli (2019)
And in another example of Netflix crossover power, Sadie stars in this 2019 Netflix horror film about a boy with an autoimmune disorder that sends him to a secluded medical facility. And like all secluded medical facilities, this one is haunted. Now streaming on Netflix.
Shannon Purser (Barb)
I know I know I know. Barb isn’t in the core group of Stranger Things kids. I mean she didn’t even live through one whole season (RIP). But Barb is a legend, and icon, and she is the moment. So we must discuss her films.
Wish Upon (2017)
Shannon/Barb got her film debut as Joey King’s friend in this 2017 horror film. Joey gets a musicbox that grants seven wishes but with each wish. DUN. DUN. DUN. Someone dies! Will Shannon/Barb last longer in this film than she did in Stranger Things? You’ll have to watch to find out. Now streaming on Tubi.
Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018)
And with one final example of Netflix loving its own, we have this 2018 rom-com based on the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac (I see you being all fancy Netflix!). In it, band kid Sierra/Shannon/Barb falls in love with fellow-Netflix fave Noah Centineo and they live happily ever after! (Not a single corpse at the bottom of a upside-down swimming pool to be found!) Now streaming on Netflix.