Stranger Things Season 3: Release Date, Cast, Trailers & Plot hints

It's on.

Well, how about that. Just as Stranger Things Season 2 has been released, we’re already chatting the breeze about Stranger Things Season 3. There’s a few hints out in the world already, so here’s what we know so far, including release date, plot hints, trailers and more.

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When is Stranger Things Season 3 announced?

Technically, it hasn’t been officially announced by Netflix. It’s only been confirmed by The Duffer Brothers in interviews – though we’re sure Netflix won’t waste much longer before the news is out.

When is Stranger Things Season 3 released?

Judging by the time difference between Season 1 and 2, we can expect Stranger Things Season 3 at the end of 2018 and maybe even start of 2019.

The ‘Stranger Things’ action figues feature the whole gang

What’s going to happen in Stranger Things Season 3?

We have a lot of questions about Stranger Things 2 after that finale. But it seems pretty clear the show will extend past Hawkins. “They’re going to have to get the fuck out of this town” Ross told Vulture in an extensive interview. And we’ve already seen that happen. Divisive episode ‘The Lost Sister’ from Season 2, saw Eleven branch out and hang out with fellow telekinetic wonder Kali – aka Eight. Chances are this was an important step to establishing storylines outside of Hawkins.
But as the ominous final scene suggested, the Mind Flayer could still cause them hassle, according to The Duffer Brothers.”They’ve shut the door on the Mind Flayer, but not only is it still there in the Upside Down, it’s very much aware of the kids, and particularly Eleven. It had not encountered her and her powers until that final episode. Now, it knows that she’s out there. We wanted to end on a little bit of an ominous note.” Job done, then.

Eleven’s controlling father Papa reared his head briefly, hinting that he could return as the show’s big baddie. Eight, meanwhile, also looks like she’s set herself up as the baddie – as she uses her power for not-so-wholesome endeavours.

When will Stranger Things 3 be set?

Speaking to Collider, producer Shawn Levy said that the show is likely to be set a year after Season 2’s conclusion, so 1985.
The Duffer Brothers also suggested that the new episodes will have to deal with the kids’ growing up and puberty.
“Even if we didn’t want to deal with [puberty], we have to deal with it because our real-life actors are going through it. I think that’s exciting because it forces the show to evolve and become something different every year,” they told Entertainment Weekly.
“It’s going to test their friendships. Obviously, like Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Max (Sadie Sink) are together, but really, when you’re that age, how long do relationships last? They usually last about two weeks if you’re lucky. I think that’s going to be fun to explore.”

Will Stranger Things Season 3 be the final episodes?

Judging by the comments by The Duffer Brothers to Vulture, they’re “thinking it will be a four-season thing and then out”. So as Season 3 progresses, we’re likely to see some kind of end-game for the show starting to rear its head.
Speaking to NME, Linnea Berthelsen – who plays Kali aka Eight – doesn’t think that Season 2 episode, ‘The Lost Sister’, is a set-up for a spin-off show. “I don’t think so. I love the rest of the gang, I think it would be so much fun to see more of them, but I honestly don’t think so.”

Will the whole cast be back for Stranger Things Season 3?

See here’s where it gets tricky. If you hadn’t noticed, the kids are pretty much everywhere right now – from talk shows, to playing guitar with Mac DeMarco. So as the kids turn into teens, there’s likely to be some kind of ambition beyond the Stranger Things comfort blanket.

Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, is already eyeing up some roles in Hollywood blockbusters. She’s confirmed to star in Godzilla: King of Monsters, which is already in its post-production stages. Charlie Heaton (Jonathan) is starring alongside Game of Thrones‘ Maisie Williams in 2018 film The New Mutants.
With those kind of scheduling conflicts likely to throw a spanner in the works, who knows which actors might end up ditching Hawkins to fry some bigger fish? Demand is going to be high for these stars, especially after Season 2.

Linnea Berthelsen also revealed to NME that she “doesn’t know yet” if she will return for Season 3, but would “love to,” if asked.
“I have no idea, I’m really a big fan of Matt and Ross who create the show and I just really want to see what they do with this storyline,” she told NME. “If they’re gonna bring Kali back, I have no idea. I think we should just be excited for the show, for season 3, and see what they’re gonna bring.”

One person we know we will be seeing more of his Lucas’ younger sister, Erica, who stole the show in Season 2. “I love Erica,” Matt Duffer told Yahoo. “Erica wasn’t even supposed to be in [Season 2] as much as she was. We fell in love with this girl.”
“There will definitely be more Erica in Season 3,” Ross Duffer said to Yahoo. “That is the fun thing about the show — you discover stuff as you’re filming. We were able to integrate more of her in, but not as much you want because the story [was] already going. ‘We got to use more Erica’ — that was one of the first things we said in the writers’ room.”

Has Stranger Things 3 started filming?

According to well placed filming source on Twitter, Atlanta Filming, Stranger Things 3 will commence ‘soon’ in Atlanta. This lines up with Season 1 and Season 2, both of which shot most of their material in the city. It would also fit the timings that will be demanded by the kids other projects. Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike in the show, is scheduled to start production on a film in November. This would no doubt require production on Stranger Things 3 to begin very soon to not conflict.

Who knows, Season 3 could be heavily influenced by Stephen King – as The Duffer Brothers revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that they regularly email the iconic horror author. “We spend a lot of time and make sure the grammar is right” they said. “We ran the first email by our writers just to make sure it was good – like, we were very, very particular about it.”