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Will! He’s alive and kinda sorta well. (As practically a new character this season, Noah Schnapp has been excellent early on. He wears the anxiety and uncertainty of Will’s past on his face at all times.)
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This image may trigger certain sects of Stranger Things 2 fans.
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There’s an emergency in the (scientific lab’s) emergency room.
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Honestly, just let these two slide into starring roles in S3.
As expected as Will Byers having a supernaturally bad day, Netflix officially announced it’s renewing Stranger Things for a third season today. The confirmation came via Twitter, after Netflix ran a surprisingly close (though always tongue-in-cheek) poll about appetite for another trip to Hawkins, Indiana.
TV renewals generally depend on things like cost of production and ratings returned, but Netflix’s non-traditional business model makes those decisions less obvious for onlookers. Still, the overwhelming popularity of Stranger Things (it’s a 94 on Rotten Tomatoes, earned five Emmys for S1, and warmed even our sequel-skeptical hearts this fall) made this a matter of when and not if. Series creators the Duffer Brothers have always maintained in interviews that they had a multi-season story to tell, though this fall they’ve been vaguer than before as to whether that’s a four– or five-season story.
As for what fans can expect in a S3 or when it may materialize, both Netflix and the show’s creators remain mum for now (though perhaps aging actors may keep that timeframe on the shorter end). Many fans and critics alike saw S2’s seventh episode as a possible hint at what an expanded, beyond-Hawkins version of Stranger Things may become. The S2 finale itself also left a handful of questions unanswered regarding how public knowledge of the lab may change things or whether or not our favorite evil scientist may still be lurking.
And, of course, everyone’s favorite kids will get a bit older on screen. Merely aging into dating/high school/graduation age carries with it plenty of potential drama, demogorgon involvement or not. S2 may not have been perfect (everyone would’ve preferred a little more Eleven, a little less Emo Mike, and just something from new character Billy), but it still delivered a fun eight hours. We’re on the record as willingly coming back so long as more Steve and Dustin adventures are on the horizon; luckily the Duffers and their staff have also shown a knack for delivering captivating emotional moments whether they’re a tad familiar or not.
If still enjoying Stranger Things for the first time, you can read our review of season one or episodes 1-3, episodes 4-6, and episodes 7-9 of S2 elsewhere on the site.
Listing image by Netflix