Stranger Things Season 4 Theories That Will Turn The World Upside Down

These Fan Theories About ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Will Turn Your Life Upside Down

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Grab your Farrah Fawcett hair spray because we finally have a teaser for Stranger Things season 4!

The popular Netflix series posted the spooky 38-second teaser this morning, and fans already have some wild theories about what’s going to go down in the new episodes.

Season 3 ended with Hopper and Joyce closing the gate to the Upside Down, killing the Mind Flayer who’d been terrorising Hawkins. But in news that’s more tragic than my last date, Hopper was killed in the process. Eleven went to live with Joyce, Will and Jonathan Byers and the four of them left Hawkins.

The finale left the next season wide open to possibilities.

Here are some of the most interesting fan theories about Stranger Things season 4:

#1. Hopper is alive and stuck in the Upside Down

Truly, if Hopper isn’t alive I’ll eat my own hat. The post-credits scene at the end of season 3 already hinted at this when the Russians (the evil guys of the season) mentioned an American prisoner:

Also remember that we never saw Hopper’s body! Some people argued that it was disintegrated in the explosion that supposedly killed him, but to that I say: 1) we saw the bodies of other people who were killed in the blast and 2) how could you give up on our beautiful, gruff, moustachioed man? No, Hopper is still alive, I can feel it in my va — bones.

But now some fans are speculating that Hopper isn’t being held captive by the Russians, but is actually trapped in the Upside Down. It makes a lot of sense: the teaser shows the Stranger Things logo being covered by the creepy tendrils that are literally everywhere in the Upside Down. And you know what else you can see in the teaser? Hopper’s cabin!

stranger things season 4 theories

Maybe the explosion that closed the gate didn’t kill Hopper because he escaped through it at the last second to get to the Upside Down? It makes more sense than the Russians capturing him without Joyce noticing.

If he is in the Upside Down, he’ll probably communicate with Joyce the same way that Will did in season 1, and you better believe that Joyce motherfucking Byers will move heaven and earth and the Upside Down to get him back.

#2. Which leads into: Stranger Things season 4 will take place in the Upside Down

The teaser promises that “We’re not in Hawkins anymore” and sure, this may hint at Eleven and the Byers moving out of town. But along with Hopper’s cabin, the teaser clearly shows a “Welcome to Hawkins” sign, which makes us think that the season will take place in the version of Hawkins that’s in the Upside Down.

stranger things season 4 theories

So maybe everyone travels into the parallel universe to rescue Hopper, and something happens that keeps them there for eight episodes. Since we know the Mind Flayer that was killed in season 3 was only a small part of the monster, maybe our heroes stay to battle it out with the big bad and finish things once and for all?

#3. Eleven will get her powers back

By the end of season 3, Eleven had lost her powers. The last time we really see her use them is at the start of the final episode, when she used them to remove a small piece of the Mind Flayer that had burrowed into her leg (more on that in a bit).

We’ve seen her get too tired to use her powers before, but they always come back after a short rest — this time, though, months pass and she still can’t even move a teddy bear with her mind.

stranger things season 4 theories

It’s pretty obvious that she’ll get her powers back in season 4, but we have no idea how that will happen or if they’ll be different.

#4. Eleven will be the villain

Some fans are convinced that not only did the Mind Flayer sap her powers when it infected her, but it also took control of her. Every other person the Mind Flayer infected — Will and Billy — became controlled by it and ultimately ended up trying to spread its power in our world.

This, combined with all the signs in the teaser, could further explain why season 4 is set in the Upside Down, where the Mind Flayer lives. If this theory is true, we’re all screwed: Eleven has been the only thing keeping our world safe from the Mind Flayer (up until now, at least).

stranger things season 4 theories

#5. “The American” is Dr. Martin Brenner

If Hopper isn’t “the American”, then that must mean another character we thought was dead is actually still alive, and who better to bring back in a shock twist than Dr. Brenner, the mad scientist who experimented on Eleven and gave her super powers?

We all thought Brenner was killed by a Demogorgon but in season 2, Eleven is told that he’s still alive. Fans are pretty sure now that he’s being kept by the Russians, who want to exploit his knowledge about the Upside Down.

#6. The events of season 4 will cause the Chernobyl disaster

The Chernobyl disaster happened in April 1986, which falls right into the time period that Reddit user @Gamer_Nation theorised Stranger Things season 4 would take place: “Season 1: Winter 1983‬ (Christmas) Season 2: Fall 1984‬ (Halloween) Season 3: Summer 1985‬ (Independence Day) Season 4: should be Spring 1986 ‬(Easter and probably goes into spring break).”

American spring runs from March 1 until May 31, and we’ve already seen that bad things happen when you mess with the Upside Down. Like, seriously bad things.

Some fans think that in the Stranger Things universe, Chernobyl never happened. Instead, it was the Russians’ attempts to reopen the gate that caused the massive nuclear meltdown and therefore the disaster was all just a cover up for a big showdown between the Mind Flayer and Eleven.

#7. Stranger Things season 4 will involve time travel

The clock seems to be the most important part of the teaser, but it’s also the thing that fans are still the most confused about.

stranger things season 4 theories

Here’s what we know: 1) the clock hits midnight by the end of the trailer and 2) season 3 spent a lot of time talking about Back to the Future, maybe to prep us all for when the kids go back in time? And, most importantly, 3) all official Stranger Things accounts have changed their profile picture to show this damn clock. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

stranger things season 4 theories

Some fans think it links back to Hopper’s final letter to Eleven, when he wrote that he wants to “turn back the clock”. Some people even believe it’s hinting towards the introduction of a new character with the power to travel through time. Others are less convinced, and are guessing it’s just hinting towards a release date or full trailer.

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So many theories! One thing’s for sure: if Hopper doesn’t come back, we riot.