Ever since the release of Stranger Things 3 in 2019, fans have been discussing how the tense series ended and what lies in store for viewers in season 4. Well luckily there really isn't that much longer to wait as the new series is releasing on 27 May.
And now, it seems that a new fan theory has Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown) as a chief villain and we aren't sure how we feel, tbh.
Warning spoilers are most definitely ahead...
As fans of the series will know, we were all introduced to Eleven in Stranger Things season 1, when the quiet girl, with the shaved head, escaped from a facility on the outskirts of Hawkins, Indiana.
Throughout the following series, Eleven, who has special powers, has used them to help her new friends. In season 3, Eleven has become part of the group of youngsters who take on the Mindflayer, but her future in the group was thrown into question when she left Hawkins along with Joyce, Will and Jonathan.
While she left Hawkins as an ally of the group, could this all be about to change?
In Stranger Things season 3, viewers see the moment when Eleven is attacked by a Mindflayer in the local store, even leaving part of its tentacle in her leg, which has to be pulled out. But could this actually have lasting damage on her?
Well, according to a Reddit user called weedmonkey666, Eleven could actually be the chief villain in season 4 of the Netflix show. The Reddit post starts, "Okay, so in season 3 of stranger things, many fans have pointed out that during the ending scene while hopper is reading his letter there is a quick flash of a shadow, many fans speculate this shadow to be the mind fayer's/shadow monster." [sic]
Later on in the post they say, "Going back to the shadow from the end of season 3, if eleven was infected by the cut/bite, this shadow could be from the mind flayer from her having a partial vision/flashback, like Will did in season 2 after being trapped in the upside down.' [sic]
See the shadow across her forehead below...
So, could it be? Nothing official has been released yet, but from trailer released for the new series not much is really given away, although Eleven does appear to still be part of the ICONIC friendship group. Give the trailer a watch below.
Many are also wondering what happened to Jim Hopper at the end of season 3. Well shortly after the season was released it seemed that the Duffer Brothers gave away a big clue.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly's podcast about the many film references in Stranger Things, including Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the co-creators said, "We always talk about Empire Strikes Back – we always wanted to give him [Hopper] a darker ending, we always wanted to give him a Han Solo sacrifice moment."
For those non-Star Wars fans among you, the significance of this might need explaining... Han Solo DIDN'T die in The Empire Strikes Back, instead he returned in the next film, Return of the Jedi.
The trailer for the series has officially revealed Hooper is still alive, although it is unclear how he survived or what role he will play in the series. Fortunately there is not much longer to wait.
Watch! "'It Involves A Bath 🛀 ' Jonathan Bailey, Simone Ashley + Bridgerton Cast on Season 2 Spoon Moment!"
Now take a look at facts you probably didn't know about Stranger Things:
Facts you probably didn't know about Stranger Things
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To help sell the show, the Duffers edited a mock 'trailer' combining clips from over 25 feature films, including E.T., Nightmare on Elm Street, Super 8 and Halloween.
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The composers of the Stranger Things soundtrack (Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon) were two members of an Austin synth band called SURVIVE; their music was featured in the soundtrack of the film The Guest.
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Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon have written over 13 hours of music for the show.
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Winona Ryder wanted her hairstyle modeled after Meryl Streep's hair in Silkwood.
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The title sequence was inspired by the work of Richard Greenberg, who designed a number of classic 80s title sequences including Alien, Altered States, Superman and The Goonies - which starred a young Sean Astin, who later appeared in Stranger Things as Joyce's boyfriend Bob Newby.
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Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine (Dr. Martin Brenner) have appeared together once before, in the music video for Roy Orbison's 'A Love So Beautiful'.
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Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) have both acted on Broadway. Gaten played Gavroche in Les Miserables and Caleb played Young Simba in The Lion King. The two boys knew each other but they didn't become close friends until after working on Stranger Things.
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Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) and Millie Brown (Eleven) are both from the UK. Charlie is from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, and Millie is from Bournemouth, Dorset.
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To help sell the show, the Duffers created a 'look book' which was designed in the style of a vintage Stephen King novel.
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Gaten's voice changed so much by the time production ended that the sound team were unable to use him for additional dialogue recording.
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Although the show was shot digitally on the RED Dragon, a layer of real film grain was applied to help achieve a more vintage look.
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It was Caleb's request to wear a camouflage bandana in the show; he wears it for the final three episodes.
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The monster was achieved through a combination of prosthetics, animatronics, performance and CG.
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The toddlers on set were very scared by the 'monster', but they were calmed when told that he was just like the monsters in Monsters Inc.
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Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, is a film buff and wants to be a director when he grows up. He is a particular fan of Sam Raimi's early work.
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The gang really did create a salt bath, and Millie Bobby Brown actually floated - there were no effects used! To get Millie to float in a kiddie pool, twelve hundred pounds of epsom salt were dissolved into the water.
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Before starting the show, the writers all watched (or rewatched) a large list of films, including E.T., Stand By Me, The Goonies, The Thing and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
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Millie had to shave most of her hair off for the show and as can be expected of any 11Â-year-old girl this was a terrifying prospect. The Duffers showed her how cool Charlize Theron looked in Mad Max: Fury Road after which Millie agreed to it.
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The Duffers had all the boys audition with scenes from Stand By Me.
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Hopper's trailer was purchased by the art department for $1.
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For some of the laboratory scenes, Millie (Eleven) was fully submerged in an underwater immersion tank. She was able to breathe by wearing a Sea Trek helmet, which weighs approximately 70 lbs above water; it weighs 15 lbs beneath the surface of the water. The helmet was designed for shallow 'underwater walking'.
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To direct Millie while she was underwater, the Duffers communicated with her through a small radio in her ear.
If you want to catch up on Stranger Things before its return later this month you can watch it on Netflix.