Photo: Netflix
Nov. 6, 1983, marks the day Will Byers went missing. This Tuesday, Netflix invites fans to commemorate the anniversary of the day it all began with an official Stranger Things Day. After casting your vote in the Midterm Elections on Nov. 6, reward yourself for performing your civic duty with a Stranger Things celebration!
Netflix released a video announcement recounting the events of the previous two seasons of the beloved sci-fi horror series. The streamer is encouraging fans to get involved on #StrangerThingsDay by sharing their cosplay, art, videos, music, and more. Whatever your imagination conjures, be sure to use the hashtag and share it on Tuesday.
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Universal Studios
For anyone who will be in Florida on Stranger Things Day, fans can check out the Halloween Horror Nights Stranger Things maze at Universal Studios. The resort announced that they will be bringing back the maze for one day to celebrate the event. Access is included with an annual or season pass, as well as with your admission to Universal Studios Orlando. The Stranger Things haunted house will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
If you’re not convinced, the video below of the Stranger Things cast being scared silly may help:
Stranger Things Season 3
The third season of the sci-fi drama is expected to return in summer 2019 with eight episodes instead of the nine that premiered last year. Filming began last April on the new season, which will jump ahead a year and find the lead characters presumably in 1985 during the magical era of The Goonies, Back to the Future, Fright Night, The Breakfast Club, Silver Bullet, and The Return of the Living Dead.
Returning for season three are Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Cara Buono, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Kerry, Dacre Montgomery, Priah Ferguson, and Sadie Sink.
New characters include Maya Hawke as Robin, an “alternative girl” bored with her day job until she uncovers a dark secret in Hawkins; Jake Busey as Bruce, a journalist for The Hawkins Post with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor; Francesa Reale as Heather, a popular lifeguard at the Hawkings community pool who becomes key in the upcoming season’s mystery; and Cary Elwes as Mayor Kline, a classic ’80s politician who is more concerned with his own image than with the people of the small town he governs.
Starcourt Mall
Back in July, Netflix released a teaser video advertising the arrival of Starcourt Mall, where a big part of Season 3 will take place. As you can see from the video, featuring fan favorite Steve Harrington and new character Robin working at Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop, the set provides more fun ’80s nostalgia.
Ahoy! Something is coming… to Hawkins, Indiana! pic.twitter.com/BI4wFRVzvB
— Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) July 16, 2018
The mall, Hawkins community pool, and going to the movies will provide “a sense of fun and joy” next season. On the other hand, since it is also inspired by John Carpenter’s The Thing with a George Romero vibe, expect the third season to be the “grossest” and darkest yet.
Growing Up
With the kids getting older and hitting that wonderful time of puberty, expect to see them falling apart a little and not quite as interested in playing Dungeons & Dragons. Fans can look forward to more of dad Steve that we all fell in love with last season and Will Byers will get a bit of a break from the trauma. As far as the adults go, David Harbour has been teasing that fans will see Jim Hopper dealing with “domestic issues” as Eleven now has a birth certificate and is “part of the world in some way.”
Watching Eleven “become a woman in front of his eyes” is scarier to Hopper “than fighting inter-dimensional monsters.” Harbour has not confirmed whether Hopper and Ryder’s Joyce Byers will end up together next season, but he wouldn’t rule out a potential romance between the two longtime friends.
Harbour also mentioned that the new season may explore Hopper’s background a bit more after it was foreshadowed when Eleven discovered some of the chief’s boxes down in his basement. The labeled boxes marked “Dad,” “New York,” “Vietnam,” and one for his late daughter, “Sara,” provide potential plot points for the upcoming season.
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The Upside Down
The Upside Down will be further explored in the third season, but don’t expect the entire mythology of the alternate world to be completely fleshed out. The Duffer Brothers have said that part of the fun is following whatever knowledge the characters are able to discern about the Upside Down through firsthand experiences and what they parallel to the games they’ve played.
With the Shadow Monster/Mind Flayer still alive, fans should anticipate that darkness expanding into season three. Like last year’s Demodogs, other creatures could be lurking in the shadows as well as the main villain, who is “determined to find a way to achieve his goals.”
Stranger Things is a Netflix production created by The Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers and directors along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Iain Patterson.
