The 'Stranger Things' Season 3 Premiere Date Was Pushed Back, But It'll Be Worth The Wait

As we saw in the Stranger Things Season 3 promo, Hawkins has to wait until "next summer" for its new mall to open to the public. It turns out that we'll have to wait until next summer to go to the Hawkins mall, too. Netflix finally confirmed that Stranger Things Season 3 will premiere Summer 2019. The time between these seasons is becoming such a long gap that it's almost unfair, but apparently, the story will be worth the wait.

Cindy Holland, Netflix's VP of Original Series, announced at the Summer Television Critics Association press tour that fans won't catch Season 3 until next year. Although the cast and crew began filming the new season earlier this year, fans began wondering if the finished product wouldn't appear anytime soon when the series released teaser footage of Hawkins' Starcourt Mall. Including Steve Harrington as an ice cream parlor worker alongside new character Robin, the faux commercial about the mall mentioned its opening next summer, and Holland confirmed that the brief reference of a date applied for fans of the series, too.

By the time Season 3 hits Netflix, about a year and a half will have passed since Season 2's October 2017 release. At the press tour, Holland said:

It’s a hand crafted show. [Stranger Things creators] The Duffer Brothers and [executive producer] Shawn Levy have worked really hard. They understand the stakes are high. They want to deliver something bigger and better. And so they really want to take the time to get it right. I think it’s going to be a fantastic season. It’s gonna be worth the wait.

The cast has stayed tight-lipped about Season 3 plot details, but we know that it takes place in the summertime and will feature more of the sweet romances between Mike and Eleven and Lucas and Max. Plus, if it's about a group of young teens' summer vacation in the '80s, there has to be a heartfelt coming-of-age vibe, right?

In addition to Maya Hawke joining the cast as Robin, Season 3 will also introduce Carly Elwes as the Hawkins mayor, Jake Busey as a journalist, and Francesca Reale as a lifeguard at the community pool. David Harbour, who recently earned his second Emmy nomination for playing Chief Jim Hopper, also teased to Deadline that curious fans could crack the code behind the '80s inspiration of Season 3, saying:

If you’re a real fan of Stranger Things and you really want to know, I would go look at the great films that were released in ’85, of which there were many, and just go down that list and think of the possibilities that we could be going with. I think it is a specific season to 1985, and so you’ll see references to that.

BTW, guys, Back to the Future and The Goonies both premiered in the summer of 1985. Does Season 3 of Stranger Things involve a time-traveling treasure hunt? We can only hope.

Until then, we can wait and see how Stranger Things fares at the upcoming 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. Snatching up a total of 12 Emmy nominations for Season 2, Stranger Things is once again up for Outstanding Drama Series. Season 3 of Stranger Things begins on Netflix in the summer of 2019.