March 23, 2019
by Quinn Keaney
First Published: March 20, 2019
68
Let's get this out of the way right now: the trailer for Stranger Things season three is a wild ride, in the best way possible. Despite a few issues in its second season — that messy standalone episode in Chicago, for instance — both seasons of Netflix's sci-fi darling have been beloved by fans, and it seems season three will be no different.
From the Upside Down to the brand-new mall that has been erected in the middle of Hawkins, the new footage gives us our first real look at what Mike, Will, Eleven, and the rest of the gang have been up to since we last saw them escaping a battle with the Mind Flayer with their lives. There's also the sight of our favorite parents, Hopper and Joyce, as well as Nancy and Jonathan waiting for a meeting at The Hawkins Post. Oh, and there's a seriously freaky new monster in the mix.
Since trouble for our favorite band of monster-fighting kids is far from over, we took it upon ourselves to examine the trailer, frame by frame. Keep scrolling to see what we found, then take a look at the first seven official stills Netflix released in anticipation of the show's July 4 premiere.
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The trailer begins with the gang using Eleven's powers to help surprise Dustin, who has apparently been away for long enough that they'd go out of their way to make a "Welcome Home" banner. We assumed the season was starting at the very beginning of Summer, meaning school had only just let out, but that's clearly not the case.
Dustin is wearing a shirt and hat that say "Camp Know Where," which has a logo covered in telescopes and computers. Apparently, he's returning home from science camp, which must mean the season is picking up halfway through what looks like a fairly normal Summer.
It looks like Dustin roped his friends into helping him build a DIY radio tower, of sorts, which they lug up to the top of a hill overlooking Hawkins. Looks like his time at science camp paid off!
Eleven? Looking carefree? We barely recognize her! Hopefully Max helps our favorite telepath experience some normal moments of growing up (before sh*t hits the fan during the second half of Summer, of course).
Speaking of Eleven being happy, her relationship with Mike appears to still be going strong.
Lucas and Max also look like they're still together, since they run off in this scene hand in hand. Dustin stares after them longingly, with only his radio tower as company. We smell a rift in the group, you guys.
Why does the trailer feature a shot of The Hawkins Post? Well . . .
. . . the very next shot is of Jonathan and Nancy sitting in what looks like interview attire (circa the '80s; let's all agree to forgive Nancy and her perm) in the newspaper's offices. Could Nancy be applying to be a reporting intern, while Jonathan is testing out being an intern in the photography department? Or are the two still trying to get the story of what happened to them and their siblings out to the world?
Like, of COURSE Billy is a lifeguard, right?
When the trailer checks in with Billy, he's not only living it up as a lifeguard — strutting around shirtless, flirting with a few different girls — but there's also a shot of him in the shower. He has a deeply troubled look on his face and we soon see why: there appears to be some kind of red and black growth blossoming on his left forearm.
So, what could this mean? The poster and previous teasers for the season included rat imagery and footage of rats running through a warehouse. Rats are known for carrying disease, right? What if the rats living underground in Hawkins got into those tunnels that Hopper and the kids were wandering around in under the pumpkin patch in season two and are now carrying an infectious, Upside Down-borne illness? The infection on his arm is in the same red and black shades as those gross, slimy vines that are all over the Upside Down, so it checks out.
Obviously, we can't be sure of how the rats came in contact with Billy, but it wouldn't be that hard to imagine they somehow spread the disease (if it IS a disease) to the pool.
That scary-looking infection doesn't seem to just be on Billy's arm, either — another shot in the trailer is a close-up of his eye, which has black tendrils reaching across his eyeball, toward a pretty dilated pupil. Obviously, he's enduring some terrifying transformation. Into what? We'll get to that.
There's an eerie shot of two unknown women toward the end of the trailer, who seem to be in a trance-like state (unless they're just normally this creepy). Could they be undergoing the same infection Billy is? Did they catch it while ogling him at the pool?
Hopper and Joyce's relationship is going to go to the next level this season . . . and by that we mean they might go on a dinner date together? Hopper is waiting for someone in this scene, but we never find out who. (Though the next shot in the trailer is of Joyce eating alone in front of her TV, so that could be a clue!)
Will is looking worse for wear for the entirety of this trailer, to be quite honest. In addition to rocking some questionably short shorts, there's a shot of him drenched in sweat as he looks at photos of him and his friends on his bedside table. Could this mean he's simply reminiscing after a nightmare? Or is his connection to the Upside Down threatening to claim him, once and for all? His bond with his BFFs could be the only thing keeping him from morphing into a monster.
Yep, a new mall has been built in Hawkins! It's called the Starcourt Mall, and the trailer confirms that the inside is decked out with plenty of neon signs and a splashy color scheme (it's 1985, remember?). But all the fun the mall brings to the town isn't to be trusted — nothing in Stranger Things is as it seems, and we have a feeling the mall is merely a cover for a much more sinister operation below.
So when Stranger Things dropped an '80s-tastic teaser for the new season way back in July 2018, it left many fans scratching their heads. The 90-second teaser doesn't bother answering any lingering questions from season two; instead, it introduces a deeper look at the Starcourt Mall, which is where Steve now works at a nautical-themed ice cream shop. (We much prefer him in babysitter mode, but it looks like his friendship with Dustin is still very much a thing!)
Both the new season three trailer and this scene show a glimpse of actress Maya Hawke, who plays a new character named Robin who works with Steve. Netflix's previously released description of the character mentioned that "she seeks excitement in her life and gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a dark secret in Hawkins, IN," so we can only imagine what the two of them will get up to.
Not everyone is happy about the mall — this scene shows a bunch of Hawkins residents chanting and waving signs outside the mayor's office in protest of it. Apparently, Starcourt is taking business away from smaller mom-and-pop-type shops downtown, as evidenced by the protest signs. Some also read "Mayor Swine," which is a play on Mayor Larry Kline, meaning the mayor is responsible for bringing the mall to Hawkins and therefore likely has a hand in whatever shady situation is lurking below it.
This is Mayor Larry Kline, by the way, who's played by The Princess Bride's Cary Elwes.
Mayor Kline hosts a July 4 Fun Fair at some point over the Summer, where it looks like a bunch of crazy sh*t goes down. (And no, we're not just talking about the fireworks display.)
For instance, an assassin of some sort appears to be hunting someone through a hall-of-mirrors-type attraction.
And who is the assassin hunting? Hopper, it seems. Regardless of if they strike up a romance or not, things are definitely going to get intense between Hopper and Joyce in season three, since there's a scene of Hopper practically dragging her behind him as they sprint through the Fun Fair away from the gun-toting killer. On the bright side, it seems Hopper is able to wrestle the guy's gun away from him somehow. Will he pull the trigger?
Here's another look at the assassin, though we can't be sure whether it's before or after his run-in with Hopper at the Fun Fair.
Remember Brett Gelman's Murray Bauman? The conspiracy theorist from season two who briefly shelters Jonathan and Nancy? Well, he's back! And apparently he's trying to cause a ruckus at the Fun Fair. (Maybe he knows about the Upside Down disease, and he's trying to warn people?)
Eleven winds up on a beach somewhere, with a storm brewing in the distance. What's important to note about this shot, though, is that she doesn't seem to be in the real world; that red lightning burst in the distance is a trademark of the Upside Down. We also know, based on some set pictures, that she'll be exasperated and rolling around in the ocean at some point, so that does not bode well.
Eleven is back in her mind palace in this shot, which sees her falling through a white, claw-foot bathtub and into black water. These could be visions or flashbacks of some kind. But with the Mind Flayer taking an interest in Eleven, the blooming conspiracy, and all her past traumas colliding in the same space, it's hard to imagine Eleven has actually escaped the Upside Down.
Could this be Eleven's mom? Is she trying to warn her daughter?
In a very quick sequence in the trailer, we see a bunch of hazmat-suit-wearing scientists observing a reactor of some sort, before it explodes with bright blue light and energy. One man in particular is knocked back into the air, and we see bursts of red blossoming all over his suit — is he merely being singed by the blast, or is that the red glow we've come to associate with the Upside Down? If we had to bet, we'd say that reactor (or whatever the hell it is) is located below the mall, and the explosion triggers a series of reactions in people in Hawkins.
Remember Lucas's adorably sassy little sister, Erica (Priah Ferguson)? Clearly, she's put aside her animosity for her older brother long enough to help him out with whatever the gang gets into, since she's shimmying through an air shaft in this shot and later can be seen standing with Lucas's friends.
Those damn rats! We still don't know their significance (well, officially), but they're grossing us out all the same.
Jake Busey is playing a new character named Bruce in season three, and this is the only shot we get of him. Netflix has previously described him as "an amoral journalist working for the local newspaper," so we can assume he tussles with Nancy and Jonathan at some point.
Eleven + Eggos = forever. (Note: she's wearing the same shirt as in the beach scene from earlier.)
Who is injecting Steve with something? And WHAT are they injecting Steve with?! LEAVE STEVE ALONE!!!
The trailer's final scene is of season three's big monster (or one of them, at least). It appears to be growing larger and larger in the hallway of what looks like a hospital, with Nancy and Jonathan on either side of it, looking on in horror. This is important for a few reasons!
First, it's a pretty dangerous-looking monster, you know? That's never fun. Second, judging from the way it expands in the trailer, it seems like the monster is growing from a human body into . . . that. Perhaps this is the end result of whatever infection sweeps through Hawkins? That monster could be Billy! Or Steve, depending on what he's been injected with!
Also worth noting is that the shot of Bruce the journalist seems to be in the same location — see the tiles on the hospital ceiling? — so the monster could also be him. Or he's going to be a truly awful character who tries to ruin the lives of our faves, so we'll all cheer when he gets taken out by that monster.
In short: JULY 4 CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH!
See if you can spot anything else in the trailer above!