Stranger Things has always been a melting pot of various 80s movies, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as E.T. and The Thing. The recently-dropped third season continues this, with even more callbacks to classic films of the decade. These range from the very obvious – the Russian assassin who’s clearly a nod to the Terminator – and the easily-missable – this Beetlejuice easter egg.
On Monday, the official Stranger Things writers room Twitter account challenged fans to find a subtle easter egg hidden in the second episode of season 3.
it’s monday and we want to play a game:
there’s a particular easter egg in episode 2 of s3 that you haven’t found, first person to crack it gets a prize. go! pic.twitter.com/0wfQOmNmtV
— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) July 8, 2019
Fans dutifully got to work and it didn’t take long before one got the right answer. Twitter user @Hackyzach spotted a familiar looking miniature gravestone in Mr. Clarke’s model of Hawkins. While the model itself was possibly more of a callback to Doc Brown’s model of Hill Valley in Back to the Future, the tiny tombstone references the mini-town from Beetlejuice.
winner, winner, banana boat for dinner https://t.co/Thw55kfS1L
— stranger writers (@strangerwriters) July 8, 2019
Mr. Clarke putting a Beetlejuice joke in his model town is definitely in character for the nerdy science teacher, but the reference is slightly anachronistic as the Tim Burton dark comedy wasn’t released until 1988 – three years after Stranger Things season 3. The production team probably couldn’t resist alluding to the movie, though, thanks to their shared star in Winona Ryder. The role of goth teen Lydia Deetz was one of Ryder’s breakout roles, after all.
If you’re wondering why the show didn’t wait until a later season set in 1988 to reference the movie, we might know why. WGTC previously reported that we’ve heard that Netflix has plans to end Stranger Things after season 4. This seems to be a creative decision first and foremost, which will no doubt come as a blow to execs. Especially after season 3 broke viewing records in the first four days of its release.