Netflix officially announced that Stranger Things is getting a fourth season this afternoon, surprising literally no one in the process. What was surprising, though, was the tagline accompanying the eerie promo video that broke the news: “We’re not in Hawkins anymore.” Sure, it’s a callback to the famous “we’re not in Kansas anymore” line from The Wizard of Oz, but it’s presumably telling us something about the upcoming run as well.
The season 3 finale saw the gang broken apart as Hopper’s apparent death caused Joyce Byers to go ahead with her plans to leave Hawkins with her family – sons Jonathan and Will and Eleven, who she’s now looking after. Meanwhile, the post-credits scene took place at a Soviet facility in Russia, which hinted that either Hop is lost in the Upside Down or he’s locked up there.
Working with these clues, fans have been sharing their ideas on what the tagline could mean on social media.
https://twitter.com/loserssidney/status/1178711378074521600
The plot of season 4: everyone doing an Area 51-like raid on the Russian facility to get Hopper.
https://twitter.com/milevenup/status/1178705292349116416
One fan thinks the title refers to El moving away with the Byers before eventually returning to the town.
https://twitter.com/___MisterClutch/status/1178708525960368128
Another Twitter user had a similar idea, suggesting season 4 will just be more heavily focused on El and the Byers.
okay but i don’t think stranger things 4 is going to completely move on from hawkins. i think the teaser is referencing the byers moving and maybe it will focus more on them this season?
— jo🦕 (@wigschnapped) September 30, 2019
Don’t overlook the weird imagery of the promo though. Does it mean that Hawkins gets completely taken over by the Upside Down?
So looks like Hawkins gets taken over completely by the upside down on S4 of Stranger Things? 🤔
— shelby | @vanekatthedisco.bsky.social (@vanekatthedisc0) September 30, 2019
Has anyone else considered time travel yet? That clock in the promo could be a big clue…
https://twitter.com/MidnightsDarlin/status/1178705071892074499
Whatever the explanation behind the teaser, it’s likely that Stranger Things 4 will pull out all the stops as most signs are pointing to this being the final run of the Netflix smash-hit. Are you ready for the show to go bigger, darker and more shocking than it’s ever been, though? Sound off in the usual place down below and let us know.