Warning: Spoilers for Stranger Things season 3 are ahead.
Update, July 12, 2019: After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Stranger Things season 3 is finally here. If you’re like most fans, you’ll be wrapping up your binge-watch session pretty soon (if you haven’t already done so), which leaves one question: what’s happening with season 4 of Stranger Things?
Netflix hasn’t yet renewed the series for another season, but executive producer Shawn Levy is pretty confident that Stranger Things season 4 happening.
"We have a good sense of stuff that happens in season 4,” Levy told Collider in April 2018. “Season 4 is definitely happening.”
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For their part, the creators, aka The Duffer Brothers, have already started talking about where Stranger Things season 4's plot is going, in a July 9 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
"I think the biggest thing that’s going to happen is it’s going to open up a little bit, not necessarily in terms of scale, in terms of special effects, but open up in terms of allowing portals into areas outside of Hawkins," said Matt Duffer.
And that post-credits scene, of course, is our best shot of theorizing about the next season, what with the mysterious "American" and the reappearance of the Demogorgon. "That’s obviously going to play a huge role in a potential season four," added Ross Duffer.
Levy, for his part, says he's already seeing some very interesting theories out there on the internets.
"I am completely not at liberty to hint at whether some of these fan theories online are guessing correctly," Levy told Mashable on July 12. "I will say, every once in a while, there's a fan theory that lands uncomfortably close to home. We saw that happen in advance of Season 3, and I'm already seeing a few online that may prove to be prophetic."
Prophetic, eh? Is that a euphemism for "correct"? At the very least, it means, "Yes, Stranger Things 4 is coming."
This story was originally published on July 4, 2019.
Likewise in a video interview with Wired, the show’s stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, and Noah Schnapp all stumbled over the question of if season 3 of Stranger Things will be the last. So fans, take that as a good sign.
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There’s one caveat, though. It may be the final season, as the the Duffers seem to have always planned on Stranger Things ending after season 4.
“By then, the original band of adorable preteens will be ready for college,” Ross told Vulture. In other words, the youthful glow the show currently has will soon be fading.
Final season or not, season 4 would likely premiere next fall. Season 1 premiered on July 15, 2016, while the second season came on October 27, 2017. Season 3 dropped on July 4, which means if the pattern continues we’re looking at an October 2020 release.
Netflix typically renews their shows just a few weeks after the previous season’s release, according to The Express. So, fingers crossed fans hear something soon.