If you’ve already binge-watched the second season of 'Stranger Things' -- twice --
then chances are you’re probably anxiously awaiting news of what season three
will bring to the small town of Hawkins and its inhabitants --
of both the human and demogorgon variety.
Luckily, the cast and producers of the Netflix smash gathered at the
Dolby Theatre for Sunday’s PaleyFest panel to discuss the show and provide some answers.
But first, on the red carpet, executive producer Shawn Levy revealed that the
third season would take place one year after the second season,
during the summer of 1985. He also answered some big relationship questions,
revealing that Millie Bobbie Brown’s Eleven and Finn Wolfhard’s Mike will be a
couple at the beginning of the season, and so will Lucas,
who is played by Caleb McLaughlin and Max, portrayed by Sadie Sink.
None of the cast had gotten the script yet, so Brown actually
learned that she would be in a relationship on the carpet.
According to Levy: "Mike and Eleven and are going strong, so that's a
relationship that continues, and same with Mad Max and Lucas.
But Again, they're like 13 or 14-year-old kids, so what does romance
mean at that stage of life? It can never be simple
and stable relationships and there's fun to that instability.”
And for all you Steve Harrington superfans (a.k.a. everybody) Levy also
revealed that Joe Keery’s character will have a bigger role next season, teasing:
"...I'll just say we won't be abandoning the Dad Steve magic.
I don't want to say much more, but I literally feel that we were
walking along and we stumbled onto a gold mine with Dad Steve.”
Oh, and get your flux capacitor ready, because during the panel itself,
it was revealed that a pop culture reference in the season will be...the classic 1985 film 'Back to the Future.'
“My god! Do you know what this means?”
Also at the panel, the cast discussed their on-set bonding and the most
challenging aspects of the series. Brown pointed out that season two was
different from the first because there was "double the security" and fans
would camp out outside where the cast was shooting. But she added that it
was easier to act because she had a firmer grasp on her character:
"With season two I had the freedom to say, 'I think Eleven would do that.'"
David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, revealed that in season two,
he came to feel about Brown the way he thought about a daughter.
"I don't have a child. All of my experiences of love have either been romantic,
or my parents, or a dog," he mused, prompting laughs.
He said that through his character he discovered
"a love that was human but pure, like you would take a bullet for someone."
Brown added that the most challenging scenes were her were the ones where
she had to get mad at Hopper. "Those scenes were so raw and real,”
she said. "...We are like father and daughter."
Renewed for a third season at Netflix, the new season comes with large
salary increases for its ensemble cast and recruited two new
recurring characters -- Lucas’s sister Erica, played by Priah Ferguson
and Robin, played by Maya Thurman-Hawke, who will take on the role of
a young woman who is bored at her job until she learns more
about Hawkins' dark secrets. A release date for the new season has not been announced.
Earlier this March, a former crew member posted allegations on Instagram
that the Duffer brothers had "verbally abused multiple women" on set.
In response, the Duffer brothers apologized, and Netflix said that it would
investigate the allegations. Levy addressed the claims on the red carpet:
"We were genuinely upset. And we were surprised to hear that anyone
felt uncomfortable on set. I want to be really clear that nobody has been
targeting in any way on the basis of race or gender, we all cherish
the family that we've created onscreen and cherished equally the family that we
created on set and we're going to remain committed to the well-being of that.”
So, how excited are you for season three?
What other ‘80s pop culture touchstones are you hoping to find,
and which characters are you dying to see spotlighted?
Let us know in the comments.
For The Hollywood Reporter News, I’m Lyndsey Rodrigues.