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Everything We Know So Far About ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3

Finally, we have some good news to celebrate in the world. On Friday, Dec. 1, Netflix confirmed that Stranger Things Season 3 is officially happening, so fans won't have to go without more adventures involving the Upside Down for too long. According to Variety, all major casts members are signed on for the third season, which is good since this already sounds like it could be the best installment of this widely popular series yet.

Season 2 started with a time jump of about one year and, according to creators Matt and Ross Duffer, the next season will be no different. Although the time jumps are also fun plot-wise, these flash forwards are way more about logistics. The cast is mainly made up of teenagers, which means they're growing up way too fast. Matt told the Hollywood Reporter:

Even if we wanted to hop into the action faster, we couldn’t. Our kids are aging. We can only write and produce the show so fast. They’re going to be almost a year older by the time we start shooting Season 3… [so] it forces you to do a time jump.

Remembering how much the cast members grew up between Season 1 and 2, the time jump into the next year — likely 1985 — makes total sense.

There's a lot more to look forward to than just watching the crew grow up, especially given that final Season 2 scene with Eleven closing the gate on the Mind Flayer. The Duffer brothers had wanted to end the season in a dramatic way that would leave fans asking for more. They told The Hollywood Reporter:

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 on that level.

So a showdown between Eleven and the Mind Flayer is definitely going to happen. Aside from that major plot point, Season 2 ended mostly on an optimistic note, which was also intentional for the brothers.

Because cliffhangers can be stressful for both the fans and the writers (especially in an IRL world where nothing is certain when it comes to show renewals). Matt said of the Season 2 finale to THR:

Very much like season one, we wanted to give the story a sense of closure. In that sense it feels like its own thing — its own sequel with its own beginning, middle and end. Hopefully, it's satisfying on that level. Last year, we had a lot of little cliffhangers at the end of the season. We didn't want to do that again. We didn't want to box ourselves in for season three. We wanted to be able to start season three on a very clean slate.

Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, told Variety that she's happy to leave her backstory up to the Duffer brothers, even though she said that she "fights" with them all the time on set like they're her big brothers. “We argue all the time and we make up the next day. But I wouldn’t want anything else," she said. But the actress trusts them. "It’s all up to them. They are geniuses."

And she's ready to keep going. She was thrilled to explore her character's backstory on Season 2, but hopes that there's a lot more to come. Brown added:

I would like five seasons, but maybe that’s just being me because I don’t want the show to end ever. But I’m realistic. I’m realistically saying season four, but I hope to go on through season five.

Let's hope she gets her way and they all don't grow up too fast, because there's no way that three seasons are going to be enough for us.

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