Netflix debuts ‘Stranger Things 3’ trailer, revealing new creatures and characters

The Hawkins kids are back.

March 20, 2019

It’s the summer of ’85 in Hawkins, Indiana. There’s a new mall in town, a big fair planned for the 4th of July, and our favorite gang of world-saving kids are in the midst of growing up and growing apart. Oh, I almost forgot! There’s also an inter-dimensional nightmare monster from an alternate realm of existence that’s threatening to once again destroy this not-so-sleepy little town.

Want to know more? Of course you do. Lucky for you Netflix has just released the new trailer for the third season of Stranger Things. Check it out below.

Set to the tune of The Who’s “Teenage Wasteland,” the trailer begins with Dustin returning home, sad that no one is there to welcome him, only to have his friends — Mike, Eleven, Lucas, Will, and Max — surprise him. All the kids have noticeable grown since we’ve last seen them, and this is a theme that persists throughout the trailer.

Growing up, and going through puberty has changed the gang. Mike and Eleven have developed a romantic relationship, as have Max and Lucas. At one point in the trailer we hear Will saying “We’re not kids anymore. I mean what did you think, we were just going to sit in my basement all day? Play games for the rest of our lives?” Which has us thinking that he probably wants to find a relationship for himself.

But the kids aren’t the only ones experiencing tension. Joyce and Hopper have been teased previously as having something between them that’s stronger than friendship. “I want you to feel safe. I want you to feel like this can be your home,” says Hopper to who we assume to be Joyce. We also see our favorite sheriff all dressed up in a restaurant, smiling at someone who has just arrived.

Besides all the romantic drama there’s a new elected mayor whose brought the new Starcourt mall to town, and from the last episode’s title “The Battle of Starcourt,” it’s clear that this will be a hugely important setting for the season. The appearance of the gang’s newest enemy appears to be at the mall, and if you thought the Demogorgon was scary, just wait until you get your eyes on this thing.

A slew of quick images zip past us towards the end of the trailer: carnival scenes, a man with a gun in a mirror house, Billy swaggering around the community pool as a lifeguard, and Eleven wrestling with her powers and some unknown force. But the last part of the trailer is easily my favorite part, Steve and Dustin goofing around with one another, as Steve’s coworker looks on in disbelief.

Stranger Things season 3 will be eight episodes, and premiers on July 4, 2019.