Everything We Know About Stranger Things Season 3 So Far
After two exciting seasons of Stranger Things, we're anxiously awaiting our chance to return to Hawkins, Indiana, with the arrival of Season 3.
More Stranger Things means more Eleven, Mike, Will, Lucas, Dustin, Max and the rest of the gang. They have new adventures ahead, and we're expecting them to be good ones.
Keep scrolling to read our guide to Stranger Things Season 3—it's jam-packed with everything you need to know. Make sure you're caught up with the first two seasons, or if not, consider this your spoiler warning (!).
When does Stranger Things return?
The Season 3 release date is a holiday, and we're not just saying that because we're so excited about it. The new episodes hit Netflix on Thursday, July 4. You'll get to celebrate Independence Day right along with the citizens of Hawkins. It's BYO-hot dogs, though.
When is Season 3 set?
Season 1 kicked off in fall 1983, and then Season 2 picked up a year later, on Halloween 1984. This time, the new season will skip ahead to the summer of 1985. The kids will keep on growing up.
What's new in Hawkins?
The first Stranger Things Season 3 promo in July teased the grand opening of the Starcourt Mall. The mall also appeared in the official trailer (below), and both videos showed it's where Steve (Joe Keery) will work with new character Robin (Maya Hawke). We don't know all the details about how the new shopping complex ties into the story yet, but it seems pretty important. There is an episode called "The Mall Rats" and another called "The Battle of Starcourt."
The kids will be out of school and enjoying summer, come Season 3. The trailer shows Dustin returning from camp, Eleven and Max having girl time, the busy Hawkins pool, and more. There will also be romance in the air, it seems. Finn, whose character, Mike, kissed Eleven at the end of Season 2, told Us Weekly in August that "it's the summer of love." Some fans have been stanning Joyce and Hopper, so that could bode well for Jopper or any of the existing couples.
Of course, this wouldn't be Stranger Things without a scary monster. Show producer and director Shawn Levy told Collider in January that there will be "forces of evil that are new" in the upcoming season. It's a mystery what exactly that means for the characters, but at least one character may be (semi-)safe. Levy promised that after Will's two traumatic seasons, he won't have quite as much misery on his plate.
(Stranger Things/Netflix)
"We're going to give Will a break," he told Glamour, also in January.
There will still be stuff for Will to deal with, Shawn added, but not on the level of being trapped in the Upside Down or having a shadow monster trapped in him.
Will Season 3 be scary?
You should absolutely be prepared to get goosebumps. Sadie teased during an ET interview in September that "Season 3 is definitely the scariest and darkest yet." If that worries you, you might feel better hearing that it also happens to be her favorite season so far.
What other things can we expect?
Big things will happen during the Stranger Things Summer. The show has been teasing that "one summer can change everything," so we'll see what that means. There are probably clues in the episode titles, but we don't know what to make of all of them yet. Here they are, in order: "Suzie, Do You Copy?," "The Mall Rats," "The Case of the Missing Lifeguard," "The Sauna Test," "The Source," "The Birthday," "The Bite" and "The Battle of Starcourt." Any ideas?
We can't wait for July 4!
Looking for something similar to our fave Netflix show that you can watch while you wait? HERE are six TV shows like Stranger Things.