New Stranger Things Season 3 Poster Is Packed With Clues

Fans have heard it all before: one summer can change everything. The latest poster for Stranger Things season 3 teases the many new adventures — and dangers — that await the fearless youngsters in the summer of 1985. 

Uploaded to the official Twitter account for the sci-fi series, the new one-sheet is an explosion of neon lights, fireworks, favorite characters and fresh faces, and tons of clues about what's to come. Let's pick it all apart, shall we?

Up at the top of the new poster is the glowing pink-and-blue sign for the Starcourt Mall, a new addition to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. The shopping center is home to dozens of trendy outfitters, a hip-happenin' food court, and the Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream shop where everyone's favorite bad-boy-turned-babysitter Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) works with Hawkins new girl Robin (Maya Thurman-Hawke). Footage from the upcoming season has teased an epic showdown at Starcourt — so the fact that its sign is at the tippy-top of this one-sheet, hovering over everything else, basically confirms trouble will brew and boil over at Hawkins' coolest new attraction. 

Underneath the Starcourt Mall sign are all of our beloved characters: Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Max (Sadie Sink), Will (Noah Schnapp), Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), Steve, Joyce (Winona Ryder), Chief Hopper (David Harbour), and Lucas' younger sister Erica (Priah Ferguson). Surrounding them are bursts of multi-colored fireworks — the sign that Stranger Things season 3 kicks off around Independence Day and that the new episodes hit Netflix on July 4. 

Tucked down in the bottom righthand corner of the poster is Billy (Dacre Montgomery), Hawkins' resident troublemaker and eye candy for the lonely moms, who is seen lurking outside a place called Brimborn Steelworks. Stranger Things hasn't yet taken viewers to Brimborn, which has us wondering what lies beyond the warehouse doors and why Billy of all people would be investigating the apparent mystery. 

On the opposite side of the poster, we can see a new Stranger Things character: the smarmy Mayor Kline (Cary Elwes) standing in front of the carousel at Hawkins' Fun Fair. The upcoming season introduces Mayor Kline as an "'80s-style slick politician" who only pretends to have Hawkins' best interest in mind. In reality, he's motivated by his own selfish desires — which will surely make themselves known before the season is up.

Missing from this poster is Jake Busey's character Bruce, a reporter for The Hawkins Post who has "questionable morals and a sick sense of humor." Given that Nancy is shown holding a notepad and her boyfriend Johnathan is snapping pictures, it's safe to assume that the two recent high school grads could be interning at The Hawkins Post and are working for Bruce. Are they gathering intel for a potential report? What are they researching? We have so many questions. 

Other subtle clues tucked into the depiction of the actual characters themselves include Dustin's hat (it's a new one from Camp Know Where, the camp he spent some time at before returning home to a surprise party his friends throw him) and Erica's attire (she's wearing some kind of light-adorned helmet, suggesting that she's going to be part of a big adventure). Also, there's Eleven doing her signature move: a stern face with her arm stuck out a la Firestarter, with blood trickling out of one of her nostrils. She only strikes this pose when she's channeling the highest strength of her abilities (like she did at the end of season 2), so viewers should anticipate something major happening during season 3 that requires the full potency of Eleven's power. 

Last but definitely not least is the terrifying new monster at the bottom of the poster. With giant talons, spikes growing out of its back, and thick strings of goop spread over its open mouth, the creature is all sorts of creepy. Apparently, it's also incredibly lethal: a pile of dead rats are littered next to the monster. Does the Brimborn Steelworks warehouse have something to do with all this? Only time will tell. 

Stranger Things season 3 is just a month away from the time of this writing. Spend that time poring over every tiny detail in the new poster, then load up the new batch of episodes starting July 4.