Stranger Things season 3 is ringing in the New Year with the reveal of a July 4th, 2019 release date, a new poster featuring key art, and a creepy teaser trailer. The 1980s-set sci-fi series has become one of Netflix's most talked-about original TV shows since it premiered in 2016, and is written, directed and produced Matt and Ross Duffer a.k.a. The Duffer Brothers.
Drawing inspiration from Stephen King novels and '80s classics like The Goonies and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Stranger Things is set in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, where strange occurrences are linked to a nearby secret laboratory and the dark otherworldly dimension known as the Upside-Down. When people start dying and Hawkins itself is thrown into serious danger, its up to a plucky group of kids - including a mysterious girl called Eleven, who has powerful psychic and telekinetic abilities - to save the day... ideally without getting killed themselves.
Related: Stranger Things Comic Answers Season 1 Questions
In Stranger Things 2, Eleven faced off against a monstrous creature from the Upside-Down called the Mind Flayer and ultimately emerged victorious, but the Mind Flayer is set to return in season 3. Perhaps that's why Eleven looks so worried in this new poster, which ominously states that "One summer can change everything." Check out the poster, along with the New Year's teaser trailer for Stranger Things 3, below:
There's more to that teaser than just Dick Clark, a big apple, and a release date. Look closely when the video glitches and you'll see a message that says "When blue and yellow meet in the West" (it's probably not a coincidence that Eleven and Mike are wearing blue and yellow, respectively, in the poster). The teaser also mentions a mysterious "Lynx Corporation," and a program called SilverCatFeeds.exe. At one point in the teaser, shortly before the feed of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve cuts out, you can hear Mike screaming Eleven's name.
An earlier teaser for Stranger Things 3 took the form of a commercial for the Starcourt Mall, a newly-opened shopping mall in Hawkins, where Steve Harrington has a job (and a rather embarrassing uniform) at the Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop. Given that the Starcourt Mall is referenced in this teaser as well, it may prove to be central to the plot of Stranger Things' third season - especially since the season finale is titled "The Battle of Starcourt."
With the release of new episodes of Stranger Things now confirmed to be just six months away, hopefully it won't be too much longer before we see some actual footage from the upcoming season - and learn more about what horrors the gang will face next.