Stranger Things 3: everything we know

The anticipation for Stranger Things 3 has been excruciating. In July last year Netflix dropped an advert for the new Starcourt Mall opening in Hawkins, Indiana where Steve (Joe Keery), our favourite babysitter, is behind the counter of Scoops Ahoy!, an ice-cream shop.

Another teen star also joins the season as Maya Hawke (daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) joins the show as Steve's co-worker, Robin.

Thankfully a new trailer and new photos have just been released showing us more scenes of life in the surreal town of Hawkins. It is the summer of 1985. Growth spurts and broken voices indicate that our favourite group of kids are now a long-limbed gaggle of teenagers.

Eleven’s hair has grown and she’s still braving nose-bleeds to use her telekinetic powers but she’s also enjoying some girl-time with Max (Sadie Sink). Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) seem to furthering a budding career in journalism at the office of the Hawkins newspaper.

As predicted, it looks like Starcourt Mall is going to play a significant part in the story. A group of disgruntled locals protest its opening but the gang seem taken with its shiny shop fronts. Little do they know that there’s something dark lurking underneath the crumbling bookstores and snogging teenagers.

It seems that the Upside Down, an alternate dimension inhabited by demogorgons, demodogs and a string of other slug-like creatures, continues to threaten life in Hawkins. A new gooey monster also rears its head that the group will probably have to fend off.

The end of last season left us an image of Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) getting close at the school dance. There’s still little indication as to whether their relationship will develop in this new season, but with summer in full swing, it’s definitely the right time of the year for young love to flourish, but Will (Noah Schnapp) still seems haunted by his nightmarish sojourn in the Upside Down in season one.

Earlier this year Netflix dropped a title teaser for Stranger Things 3 – announcing all the episode titles. There will be eight episodes in total, and they are as follows:

1. Suzie, Do You Copy?
2. The Mall Rats
3. The Case of the Missing Lifeguard
4. The Sauna Test
5. The Source
6. The Birthday
7. The Bite
8. The Battle of Starcourt