It’s officially official: Stranger Things 3 filming is underway. Collider broke the news last week that production on Stranger Things Season 3 was set to begin on Monday, April 23rd, and indeed now Netflix has released a video confirming the start of production, teasing the return of familiar faces, and also offering a peek at a couple of the new cast members.
You won’t get any time period or costume reveals here though, as the video was shot at the table read for Stranger Things 3 and thus everyone’s in regular 2018 attire. But it’s impossible to ignore just how much these kids have grown in the year since they shot Stranger Things 2, and it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a more significant time jump to account for the sprouting adolescent cast members.
We also get a tiny tease of new Season 3 additions Jake Busey, Cary Elwes, and Maya Hawke, who will shake things up even further in Hawkins, while new Season 2 cast members Dacre Montgomery and Sadie Sink are confirmed to be back.
The production schedule of Season 3 will mirror that of the first two seasons, as the scripts for the eight-episode season aren’t yet complete. So showrunners The Duffer Brothers will be directing the first two episodes, then executive producer Shawn Levy will direct episodes three and four while the Duffer Brothers work to put the finishing touches on the final scripts. I’m mighty curious to see what other directors are filling out the roster, but I imagine we’ll find out soon enough.
While the end of Stranger Things is finite and has been teased before, the Netflix series won’t be concluding with Season 3. There will at the very least be a Season 4, and possibly one more season after that to wrap up this self-contained story.
A Stranger Things 3 premiere date hasn’t yet been revealed, but Stranger Things 2 premiered about a year after filming began—although that season had 10 episodes instead of 8. Stranger Things 1 premiered eight months after filming began, but the Duffer Brothers admitted it was a mad dash to get that season complete. So we’re probably looking at a Stranger Things 3 premiere date anywhere between December and April or so. We’ll probably get a firm date sometime later this year.
For now, check out the Stranger Things 3 teaser below:
via Collider