Netflix’s Stranger Things was one of the breakout hits of the summer, and a loving homage to all things from the ’80s. The show was clearly inspired by The Goonies and other popular films from that era, and now it’s got a Goonie of its own!
Entertainment Weekly broke the story that Sean Astin has signed on for Stranger Things season 2. He’ll be playing Bob Newby, the manager of a Radio Shack in Hawkins, who apparently went to school alongside Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Police Chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour). Aside from The Goonies. Astin is best known for headlining the sports bio film, Rudy, as well as co-starring in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. On TV, Austin co-starred in a season of 24, and he had an extended recurring role in the first season of FX’s The Strain.
Another ’80s icon, Paul Reiser is also joining the cast, per the report from EW. His character’s name wasn’t given in the report, but he was described as “a high-ranking member within the Department of Energy on a ‘clean-up’ assignment, tasked with containing the events of last year.” So that probably places him in opposition to most of this season’s returning characters, except Chief Hopper; who essentially agreed to work with the secretive government agency behind the Hawkins Lab experiments in exchange for providing him with the means to save the missing Will Byers. Reiser is also a veteran of classic ’80s films like Beverly Hills Cop and Aliens, as well as My Two Dads and Mad About You.
Related: Millie Bobby Brown is Back For ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2
The third casting announcement of this week was that Danish actress Linnea Berthelsen has been cast as Roman, a woman who is haunted by her childhood trauma, and she may also be connected to the unfolding mysteries of Hawkins Laboratory.
Almost all of the main cast from the first season of Stranger Things has signed on for the new season, which will be filmed later this year for a 2017 premiere on Netflix.
Are you excited to see Astin, Reiser, and Berthelsen join this show? Emerge from the Upside Down and share your thoughts below!
