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The Shadow Monster Will Continue To Loom Over Stranger Things Season 3

The haunted townsfolk of Hawkins, Indiana haven't seen the last of the Shadow Monster, according to Stranger Things director-producer, Shawn Levy.

Long before Stranger Things season 2 dropped on Netflix, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer often compared their spooky follow-up act to a film sequel, one which advanced the plot to 1984 and allowed young Steve Harrington to become one of the show’s best-developed characters.

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Turns out the Duffer Brothers will employ a similar strategy for season 3, as we learned recently that the next installment (sequel?) of Stranger Things plans to whisk viewers off to 1985, where we’ll see much more from Steve and his brotherly bond with Dustin.

So far, so good. However, while speaking to Variety at the ongoing PaleyFest 2018, series producer and frequent director Shawn Levy confirmed that the Shadow Monster will be causing all sorts of headaches for Hawkins, Indiana in the not-so-distant future.

The Shadow Monster is still lurking up there out there in the Upside Down. He is determined to find a way to achieve his goals. The dogs didn’t get it done in season two, so he’s going to have some new strategies.

That’s all well and good, but falling back on the same über-villain throughout multiple seasons can result in viewer frustration – or worse, boredom. It’s for this reason that Stranger Things has been likened to Harry Potter for the way in which it visits its principal characters, such as Steve and Dustin, once a year.

And though its previous two installments largely focused on the gang’s time in and out school, Stranger Things season 3 will buck tradition in that it’s expected to take place during the height of summer.

Season 3 is set in the summer, so right out of the gate that’s a big difference. The first two seasons were very much school-based. This is that time of year where it’s not about school, it’s about the swimming pool and campfires and parades and Fourth of July and fireworks, so there’s kind of a poppy fun to Season 3 that’s really enjoyable before things inevitably turn super dark.

School’s out for the summer, then, and Stranger Things season 3 is officially on the way. New cast members include Maya Thurman-Hawke, while the wonderfully sassy Priah Ferguson has been bumped up to a series regular.