Stanger Things
Grab your D20s as Stanger Things is returning for season 3 this summer! If you’re looking for all the latest information on Stranger Things season 3 including all the casting news, release date, trailers, gossip and more this is your central location where we’ll cover everything Stranger Things 3. Here’s your extensive guide to the third season.
Stranger Things is Netflix Original Sci-Fi series created by the Duffer Brothers. The series was the sleeper smash hit of 2016 for Netflix and its popularity exploded into pop culture. Hitting the right chord between nostalgia and drama, Stanger Things has been one of the most entertaining series on Netflix to date. After the release of the second season, the show solidified its place as one of Netflix’s flagship titles.
Stranger Things Season 3
Season 1 Recap: Stranger Things
Hawkins Indiana
In the sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana young Will Byers mysteriously disappears on his way home from playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. Will’s mother Joyce Byers is convinced Will is still alive and her suspicions come true when Will appears to be able to communicate with her through the electronic devices.
A young girl known only as ‘Eleven’ is being hunted by the Department of Energy that is experimenting on young children in the hope of using them as weapons against the soviet union. After her escape, she is found by Mike and is taken in by the young boy and hides in his home. Eleven is a special child and shows Mike some of her abilities like Telekinesis. When she reveals she knows who Will is and shows and where he is Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and El are in search for the ‘Upside Down’ a different plane of existence where Will is trapped. Will is also being hunted by a disgusting creature which the kids name as the Demogorgon.
Throughout the season Mike’s older sister is embroiled in a love triangle between her boyfriend Steve and Will’s older brother Jonathan. Her friend Barb disappears after she and Barb went to a party at Steve’s home. Waking up in the Upside Down, Barb is captured by the Demogorgon and her fate is left unknown.
Meanwhile throughout the season the Hawkins Sheriff ‘Hopper’ is investigating the mysterious DoE in the town. As he stumbles upon a conspiracy of Cold War weapons, Kidnapping and child experiments Hopper comes to the realization the DoE is to do with the disappearance of Will Byers.
Milly Bobby Brown as Eleven – Copyright Netflix
The Upside Down
In the finale, Will is saved by Joyce and Hopper after the DoE sends them into the Upside Down to look for him. Sadly the fate of Barb is confirmed and she suffered a grim death. When the DoE continues to hunt for Eleven, she accidentally summons the Demogorgon when it is attracted to the blood of dead soldiers that she killed with her powers. When the Demogorgon attempts to hunt down Eleven and the boys she uses her powers to sacrifice herself and thus killing the Demogorgon in the process.
With Will returning home to his family, there is peace once again in Hawkins. The families are celebrating Christmas, but all is not well with Will who still appears to be connected to the Upside Down. He throws up a baby Demogorgon into the sink and the creature disappears. Meanwhile, Hopper has cut a deal with the DoE but behind their backs is storing Eleven’s favorite food ‘Eggos’ in the wood. Heavily hinting her survival.
Season 2 Recap: Stranger Things
The second starts with a car chase involving a group of young offenders escaping from the police. One of the girls uses a power to make a Police officer believe a tunnel collapsed causing him to almost crash the car. As the youths make their escape, the young girl wipes the blood from her nose and it is revealed the marking of ‘008’ indicates she is the 8th experiment of the Department of Energy.
Meanwhile, the boys enlist a newcomer into the group known as ‘Madmax’ who previously beat all of their high scores in the arcade. Will continues to get episodes of being in the Upside Down and witnesses a ginormous creature while there. After drawing the creature for his mother Joyce, she reveals the drawings to Hopper.
Eleven’s return
The town of Hawkins has continued to experience strange incidents in the outskirts of town which have lead Hopper back to the DoE. Hopper expresses his anger with them, as he has been leading people away from them but in return, no trouble was meant to happen for the town. It is revealed that Eleven made it back from the Upside Down and has been taken in by Hopper. As Hopper continues to break small promises with Eleven she begins to grow frustrated with her isolation and leaves the cabin home to search for Mike.
Milly Bobby Brown as Eleven in season 2 – Copyright Netflix
Relationships old and new
Nancy and Steve break up after Nancy reveal her true feelings about their relationship while drunk. Lucas and Max continue to grow close but Max’s brother Billy warns his sister to stay away from Lucas or he’ll do something terrible. Dustin has found a mysterious creature and has taken it in as a pet. Thinking he’s found a new species, the boys soon come to the realization it could be a baby Demogorgon and try to kill the creature. Dustin being fiercely protective, is able to hide the creature and take it home.
After refusing to run away thanks to the advice of Bob (Joyce’s Boyfriend), Will stands up for himself but is possessed by the giant creature when he has another episode. Eleven has a breakdown after she sees Mike with Max and mistakes their friendship for something more. After finding newspaper clippings, Eleven searches for her mother and upon finding her the traumatization from the DoE is revealed. Eleven discovers her real name is actually Jane.
Nancy and Jonathan racked with guilt tell Barb’s mother the truth. Listening in on the conversation the DoE take the pair to the Upside Down entrance and reveal the extent of the infection. They then leave Hawkins to find Barb’s investigator and that night the pair sleep together.
The Upside Down Returns
After Will draws a series of mysterious drawings, Hopper investigates the fields and finds the series of tunnels shaped like Will’s pictures. He almost consumed by the fields but is rescued by Joyce. Hopper is shown the full scale of the Tunnels by the DoE and realizes the town may be doomed. The damage upon the tunnels is also affecting Will as it damages the creature that is dormant inside of him.
Dustin’s family cat is eaten by the creature so Dustin teams up with Steve to try and kill it. The creature is revealed to be a ‘Demodog’ and he is not alone. The gang takes refuge inside the junkyard bus and Steve arrives to save the day, scaring away the creatures. Meanwhile, Will, possessed again takes out the DoE workers inside the tunnels.
008
Eleven is reunited with her sister Kali aka ‘008’ from the facility they grew up in. 008’s gang carry out vigilante justice upon those that have wronged them in the past. 008 also teaches Eleven how to use her powers and trains her to become more powerful. During a break in, Eleven almost kills a man with her powers, but when she remembers her friends she leaves 008 and makes her way back to help her friends in Hawkins.
Kali ‘008’ and Jane ‘Eleven’ – Copyright Netflix
The Demodogs
The Demodogs attack the facility with Bob, Joyce, Hopper and Will trapped inside. Nancy and Jonathan return to town and meet up with the rest of the gang as they devise a plan to help those trapped inside the facility. During the escape, Bob heroically sacrifices himself so the others can escape.
Dustin comes to the realization that the creature controlling Will has the same powers as Mindflayer from Dungeons and Dragons. When the Demodogs attack once again, Eleven arrives to save the day and reunites with Mike. Eleven heads to the facility with Hopper to destroy the portal to the Upside Down once and for all.
The Portal
Max’s brother Billy has been searching for her and confronts her and the boys. Max takes him down with a sedative so the boys can carry out their plan. The boys and Steve enter the tunnels and begin to destroy them. The Demodogs attempt to reach the portal being closed by Eleven but Hopper protects her with his gun ensuring she closes the portal for good.
Meanwhile Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan attempt to rid the monster out of Will’s body. By using radiators and any extra heat they can use, the monster is exorcized from Will’s body and dissipates.
A Demodog – Copyright Netflix
One Month Later
Barb is finally laid to rest and is given a funeral. Hopper adopts Eleven and she is given the name of Jane Hopper. At the school dance, Mike and Eleven share a kiss, Max shares her first kiss to a delighted Lucas and poor Dustin strikes out. Steve had helped Dustin with his new cool looks but it was Nancy that saved the day and offered to dance with Dustin.
All seems well with the world but as the shot of the school pans out the world is flipped upside down and the monstrous creature has returned ominously watching over the school gymnasium.
Plot: Stranger Things Season 3
The official synopsis for the third season is:
In mid-1985, when the box office was dominated by the presence of Back to the Future, Mike and Eleven have developed a romantic relationship, as have Max and Lucas. However, one year after the defeat of the Mind Flayer, things are not all that they seem in Hawkins. The town has a new leader, the morally corrupt Mayor Kline, whose administration supported and presided over the construction of the new Starcourt Mall. With the Fourth of July approaching, strange things start to happen: Lucas’ sister Erica discovers a mysterious new threat, and a lifeguard at the community pool suddenly disappears, triggering fear in those that still have the events from the previous year still fresh in their minds.
So a small time jump has been confirmed to take place. This makes sense to coincide with the growing child actors.
Cast: Stranger Things Season 3
Cast members confirmed to return
All the core cast members are set to return for season 3! The following core cast members are as follows:
| Role | Actor/Actress | Where have I seen/heard before? |
|---|---|---|
| Jane ‘ Eleven’ | Millie Bobby Brown | Godzilla: King of the Monsters, NCIS, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland |
| Mike Wheeler | Finn Wolfhard | It, Carmen Sandiego, Spendtime Palace: Sonora |
| Dustin Henderson | Gaten Matarazzo | The Blacklist |
| Lucas Sinclair | Caleb McLaughlin | The New Edition Story, Spy vs. Guy, Forever |
| Will Byers | Noah Schnapp | Snoopy and Charlie Brown, Bridge of Spies, Abe |
| Max Mayfield | Sadie Sink | The Glass Castle, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Odyessy |
| Nancy Wheeler | Natalia Dyer | Velvet Buzzsaw, Hannah Montana: The Movie, I Believe in Unicorns |
| Joyce Byers | Winona Ryder | Little Women, Edward Scissorhands, Heathers |
| Jim Hopper | David Harbour | Suicide Squad, A Walking Among the Tombstones, The Green Hornet |
| Steve Harrington | Joe Keery | Molly’s Game, Slice, After Everything |
| Jonathan Byers | Charlie Heaton | The New Mutants, Shut In, The Secret of Marrowbone |
| Billy Hargrove | Dacre Montgomery | Power Rangers, Better Watch Out, A Few Less Men |
New cast members for season three
There are 4 new cast members for season 3 of Stranger Things:
| Role | Actor/Actress | Character Description |
|---|---|---|
| Robin | Maya Hawke | An ‘Alternative Girl’ bored with her job until she stumbles onto one of the secrets of Hawkins |
| Heather | Francesca Reale | A popular lifeguard at the Hawkins Community Pool who becomes the centerpiece of a dark mystery |
| Mayor Kline | Cary Elwes | A politician concerned with his own image rather than the people of Hawkins |
| Bruce | Jake Busey | A journalist for ‘The Hawkins Poat’ with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor |
Production Timeline: Stranger Things Season 3
Here’s a complete timeline view of season 3 so far including its season 2 release, renewal, production start, trailer drops and more.
- Season 2 released on October 27th, 2017
- Season 3 officially announced December 2017
- Production began officially on 27th April 2018 (see video below)
- First teaser trailer released 16th July 2018
- Title tease released 9th December 2018
- Season 3 date announced 31st December 2018
Episode Count: Stranger Things Season 3
The third season will have 8 episodes to which all 8 episodes will be available to stream from the day of release.
Netflix has already released the titles of each episode. There’s no need to worry there are no spoilers from the episode titles.
| Overall Episode Number | Number In Season | Episode Title |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | Suzie, Do You Copy? |
| 19 | 2 | The Mall Rats |
| 20 | 3 | The Case of the Missing Lifeguard |
| 21 | 4 | The Sauna Test |
| 22 | 5 | The Source |
| 23 | 6 | The Birthday |
| 24 | 7 | The Bite |
| 25 | 8 | The Battle of Starcourt |
Trailer: Stranger Things Season 3
Updated: March 20th, 2019
Out of nowhere, Netflix has finally released the trailer for the third season!
Photos: Stranger Things Season 3
Check out the latest images from the upcoming third season!
The Duffer Brothers: Stranger Things Season 3
It does look as though The Duffer Brothers are currently looking at solely focusing on their efforts on Stranger Things given how intensive the show is. The pair were involved in Fox’s Wayward Pines during the first season of that show but given the show is currently on hiatus and their non-existent involvement in season 2, it looks as though they won’t be returning for writing duties there.
The Duffer Brothers – Photo Credit: Maarten de Boer
Shawn Levy, one of the other key executives working on the show is currently involved in the production of several other movies. This year he’s had credits in Fist Fight and Table 19. Next year is the scheduled release of the movie The Darkest Minds and titles such as Atlantis 7, Cubed and Uncharted also has Shawn involved.
The final season?: Stranger Things Season 3
As you may now know, season 3 isn’t currently planned to be the final season. The show is scheduled to have four seasons although it’s been cited that it could extend to five.
One of the points Ross Duffer was key to point out is that he didn’t want the series to ‘linger on’ possibly referring to shows in the same genre such as American Horror Story which has lost its edge in later seasons. Ross was keen to point out that they want to tell the story they have to tell and simply get out afterward.
Potential Spin-Offs: Stranger Things Season 3
As of right now, there are no planned spinoffs. Ross Duffer in an interview stated it was ‘about focussing on this story’ and to ‘tell this story and tell it right’. The good news there, of course, is that the pair haven’t ruled out the possibility of a spinoff show and it’d be interesting to see what kind of direction it’d take.
Possible spin-offs could be:
- A prequel series that follows the beginning of the experiments that take place at the Hawkins National Laboratory.
- A series that follows Kali ‘008’ and her band of vigilantes.
- Further survivors from the experiments (If any).
- A prequel series that takes place when Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper were at school.
Netflix Release Date: Stranger Things Season 3
Initially, everyone believed that Stranger Things would release at the end of 2018.
We can officially confirm that Stranger Things season 3 will be coming to Netflix on the 4th of July, 2019. Netflix released a video to announce the release date.
Are you excited for Stranger Things season 3? Let us know in the comments below!