What do these new Stranger Things season 2 pictures tell us about Will Byers's future?
He's a secondary character no more! But is he back for good?
We’ve raked through every frame of the Stranger Things season two trailer, and we’ve read and re-read the season's brief plot summary. Now Netflix has released five more images to turn expectations further uʍop ǝpᴉsdn.
First up, there’s this pic of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), the child cunning enough to survive the Demogorgon last season (sorry, Barb). Looks like he’s back at Hawkins Middle School, although things aren’t necessarily back to normal – his town-wide funeral has probably made things a bit awkward.
But look at it this way, Will. You've been promoted from a secondary character. Congrats! Now get back to moping around the playground.
Next, we’ve got a shot of the back of Will, as he's seemingly saying something horrifying to his mum (played, of course, by Winona Ryder). Exactly what we can’t be sure – or why Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) is wearing a headset. However, we do know who that red-haired girl is: Sadie Sink. She’s one of the new cast members and will be playing Max, a tough and confident 13-year-old tomboy.
Remember the wave of nostalgic excitement every fan rode after seeing the Ghostbuster outfits in the trailer (whether or not they were born before the release of the 1984 Bill Murray film)? Well, we’ve got another look at the boys’ retro Halloween costumes – this time with each holding a pillowcase, presumably to carry all those Halloween treats.
Interestingly, Will wasn’t seen with the rest of the kids in the season two trailer. And in this shot he's standing apart from the others and wearing a slightly different coloured outfit. Are we reading too much into this or could it be a hint that he's about to get separated from them again?
The teens of Hawkins didn’t appear in the trailer either, but here we can see Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Jonathon Byers (Charlie Heaton) in a car together – without mini-Jean Ralphio Steve (Joe Keery). But a point missing from the love triangle isn’t what’s significant about this photo, is it? It’s what the two are looking at with such horror.
We reckon it’s something big or a group (their eyes are pointed at different points at whatever it is), but our guess is that it’s not the sky monster in the trailer – there’s no red light shimmering over the car park.
And last but not least scary, we’ve got Chief Jim Hopper doing what he does best: looking around in creepy dark places with a torch. Is he on the hunt for Eleven? Or something more sinister? Who knows, he's a maverick, that Hopper.
Stranger Things will return to Netflix on 31st October 2017, AKA Halloween
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.