The fine folks of Hawkins, Indiana have already been introduced to a twisted alternate dimension known as the Upside Down, but what about a whole new reality?
If a seemingly innocuous post from Stranger Things star Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner) is anything to go by, season 2 of Netflix’s über-popular original series may harbor some form of connection to The Matrix. That, or the story dreamed up by the Duffer brothers and series producer Shawn Levy involves a simulated reality in place of the Upside Down.
Prior to the unveiling of last night’s Super Bowl spot, it’s worth remembering that the latter did tease a new form of supernatural terror ahead of the show’s Halloween return – “the Demogorgon was destroyed but evil wasn’t” – but will it herald the kind of dramatic shift in tone that Modine’s Tweets suggest? Unlikely, but that won’t stop us from indulging in some good old-fashioned speculation.
Embedded below, it’s really the first post that has fuelled rumors online. Truth be told, any artwork that depicts green computer code raining down from above has and always will evoke comparisons to The Matrix, and it’d be foolish to think such an overt reference to the Wachowskis’ sci-fi classic is merely incidental. Still, the prospect of Stranger Things season 2 incorporating a dystopian future and/or computer-generated dream world raises more questions than answers.
Perhaps Modine’s enigmatic posts are simply making a thematic comparison between the two properties? Either way, the second Tweet appears to be masking a similar shape as the first (an alien head?), only it utilizes a stark, old-school art style. It’s also worth noting that we’ve scoured the Internet in search of clues and, to the best of our knowledge, neither post appears to be fan art.
Otherworldly threats and nods to sci-fi classics; it can only be Stranger Things. Check out those head-scratching posts below and be sure to tune in when the show returns for a second season this Halloween.
https://twitter.com/MatthewModine/status/828330957350461440
https://twitter.com/MatthewModine/status/828385492374740993
