Gaten Matarazzo Reveals Exciting New Details About 'Stranger Things' Season 3

This summer, Netflix is going to celebrate the July 4 holiday by heading to the heart of America, Hawkins, Indiana, for another round of Stranger Things. It will be the third installment of the series since it's debut in the summer of 2016, and the main four characters Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin, are facing the terror of growing up as well as the horror of the Upside Down. Dustin actor Gaten Matarazzo's quotes about Stranger Things Season 3 will get fans excited for the new chapter he'll be facing.

Matarazzo's character started off, in his words as, "Chunk in The Goonies," but his personality and self-confidence inspired the Duffer Brothers to reimagine the role to reflect his personality. Despite being labeled a nerd, his positivity is infectious, with is one of the reasons he's recently partnered with AXE. I caught up with him as he was helping promote the newest #AXEpressYourself campaign, which he called "a social initiative to encourage guys to experiment with new hairstyles and hair colors as a way of expressing themselves and their uniqueness."

Unfortunately, Matarazzo couldn't share if Dustin's hair would be getting another '80s style makeover this season after the Season 2 finale mullet-for-the-ages, but he did talk about the changes coming up this year for his character.

Matarazzo explains, "The show takes place in the summer of '85, and it centers around how the kids are growing up, and how they’re dealing with...ah...well I wouldn’t say puberty, but with their lives. What’s great about the Duffers is they know what’s realistic when it comes to kids and they understand what it is to grow up... Different relationships can form between people, and there are people you can grow distant from in different ways."

Dustin's character already started to grow away from the group somewhat last year, as he partnered up with Steve Harrington, played by Joe Keery. Matarazzo promises fans there will be more of that this coming season.

"Steve and Dustin’s relationship remains strong, and I'm very excited for people to see what we have in store. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Working with Joe has been one of the best experiences I've ever had. He’s one of the best co-stars I could have asked for, he’s awesome."

Matarazzo did confirm that his buddy he raised from a larva, Dart, won't be back this year: "Dart’s dead. If you watch carefully when the Mindflayer is sucked back into the upside down, all the Demodogs fall down dead." But the new monster is going to be worth the wait. "It's scary looking."

But most of all, like any teenager ready to show off their emerging style, Matarazzo is excited about the Starcourt Mall, which Dustin and his friends will all be hanging out in this year.

"I love the mall set, it’s beautiful. It’s so cool... There’s this really rundown old crappy mall in Duluth, Georgia... they bought off an entire piece of this mall, and the renovated it. And it’s still all set up! People can actually go to the mall, take pictures, and walk around the set and explore."

His next appearance, which he says he's "super-excited" to be part of is playing Jack in Into The Woods, live at the Hollywood Bowl this summer. Until then, he'll be working to help spread the gospel of self-confidence to his peers.

Stranger Things Season 3 arrives on Netflix with eight episodes on July 4, 2019.