NETFLIX Taps Butcher Billy For Stranger Things 4 Poster Series
The Brazilian artist creates an official art series of posters inspired by each one of the 9 epic episodes of Stranger Things season 4
WARNING: SPOILER ALERT!
The images in this post include potential spoilers for those that have not yet watched all of Stranger Things season 4, while the text includes references to the series overall. Proceed at your own risk.
When NETFLIX launched the sci-fi horror series, Stranger Things, back in 2016, it became a global phenomenon overnight. While there’s an endless number of projects employ nostalgia or pop-culture references as the foundation for their appeal, it can be a difficult task to create something that carves out its own place in cultural history, let alone something that has the potential to become just as iconic as the inspirations that it pays homage to. Beyond the remarkable writing and character development, the key to the Duffer Brothers project is that the creators clearly view every component as critical and carefully construct it all in a way where each element pulls its own weight. There are no weak points. They’ve tapped into the essence of a bygone cinematic era where ragtag crews of friends would come together to set out on adventures and overcome something that, otherwise, seems insurmountable, whether it involves battling powerful corporate interest, the government/military, untold evil, and/or the supernatural. The casting is so impeccable that new characters are introduced every season to become embraced by viewers, rather than feel as if they’ve derailed the focus or convoluted anything. Meanwhile, the eerie Jon Carpenter-esque synth score provided by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the Austin group, S U R V I V E, has become iconic in its own right and the aesthetic of the show is an amalgamation of all of the best parts of the genres they reference in the perfect proportions. But most of all, the heart of the show is that you can tell that Matt and Ross Duffer truly are fans of the type of cinema they hope to replicate, which makes them determined enough to want to create something just as powerful and enduring. Perhaps, the greatest indicator that they’ve been successful in this effort is how many other artists and creators have now felt prompted to pay homage to their brainchild.
One individual that has been inspired by the NETFLIX program is Brazilian artist, Bily Mariano Da Luz. Professionally known as Butcher Billy, Mariano Da Luz created a series of 9 images during Season 2, each reflecting a different one of its 9 episodes or “chapters.” He definitely isn’t the first artist to tackle the theme or create retro-style fanart for the program, but his approach was definitely one of the most successful, as well as the most unique. Along with imagining his designs as a collection of Atari 2600 game cartridges, he alternately presented them as the covers of vintage novels titled “STRANGER TALES 2,” featuring weathered effects, creasing, and even a Steven King-like font. The Duffers have been known to state that their 2 major influences for their show have been “the two Stevens,” meaning Spielberg and King, so it’s no surprise that the brothers took notice of Billy‘s work, bringing him on board to design a small collection of official Stranger Things shirts with Loot Crate that same season. In preparation for the long-awaited season 4 release, NETFLIX and The Duffer Brothers reached out to Mariano Da Luz and invited him to revisit his original approach of creating art for each of the new season’s 9 episodes, except this time, instead of novels, he’s made them look more like large fold-out posters, complete with more creasing. But while they might not be designed to look like books in these iterations, that old-school graphic work that made the Brazilian‘s previous work so visually captivating remains.
Not unlike the Harry Potter film series, each season of Stranger Things has evolved as the stars have grown older, the subject matter becoming more intense, the tone much darker. For fans of the show that have yet to make it through Season 4, it is much more directly horror-oriented than seasons past and, arguably, the best the Duffer Brothers have produced yet. This work that Butcher Billy has produced to represent them is an impressive effort that truly encapsulates the feeling of each chapter, so it makes sense that these images are being utilized for more than just some internet posts and viral advertising. Along with being used on massive billboards spread across Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, the art can currently be purchased on various products like posters, t-shirts, and sweatshirts over on the official NETFLIX shop.
Check out the Butcher Billy x Stranger Things 4 poster art series below.
