As soon as we saw that last frame of Stranger Things Season 2, we naturally started asking questions about Season 3. What's next for the kids in Hawkins? Can we trust Dr. Owen? Is the Mind Flayer planning a grand comeback? Are 'Jopper' going to be a thing? What the heck was Episode 7 all about?

Below are a few of the facts and figures we've collect since then, in interviews with executive producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, as well as some quotes from The Duffer Brothers (Ross and Matt) themselves. While Season 3 is mostly under wraps (and of course, we prefer it that way), there are a few tidbits worth noting:

  • The writers' room for Season 3 is just getting started, and according to Cohen "the [Duffers] are very smart about giving the fans what they want and playing to the strengths of what played well, and letting that find its way into the season."
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    There will be another time jump, with Levy assuring us that the show will never do a storyline pretending the kids are younger than they really are.
  • Evidently, the cast, crew (and the world) wants a future for Billy and Karen Wheeler ... but it remains to be seen if we'll get more of that.
  • About Episode 7 ... Ross Duffer said that  “That Eleven story line overall is sort of the biggest risk we took. We’re going to continue to do risks moving forward to keep us on our toes. I didn’t want her to just magically save the day. Just like Luke Skywalker, she needed to go off on her own and learn something about herself.”
  • Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine) is alive. According to Levy, "it now seems clear that Brenner is alive, Brenner is out there."
  • Also confirmed by Levy: "Eleven isn’t the only one. There are other numbers.” And it seems pretty likely that Season 3 will start looking for them.
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    The lab has been shut down, and so we will be leaving Hawkins. Levy said,  “[Future seasons leaving Hawkins] is definitely something we’ve talked about. There’s only so much evil that can happen in that lab… [Showrunners] Matt and Ross make the joke that then makes us and the world very uncomfortable which is eventually, move outta Hawkins! Things are never gonna be great here! But yes the lab is shut down…”
  • What about the demodog in the fridge? Cohen said that it is definitely dead, but “Whether or not his current state will lead to Dustin’s scientific genius being received by the world, we’ll have to wait and see.”
  • That cloud of inky darkness that emerged from Will when he was scalded by the fire is called "particulates of evil," and Levy explained: “We definitely see when Will is saved those particles, that particulate — we used to call it the particulate of evil — it emerged not in the Upside Down but in our world. And maybe that’s got to be dealt with…”
  • While the seasons are always connected, there might be some major departures to come. Cohen told us: “They’re movies, they really are standalone movies, and they really do fit within the Star Wars films or Harry Potter movies in that they are standalone things where you have enough of a nod to get into the next story, but they can function and you can enjoy on their own.”

Stay tuned for more as we know it!

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