When Netflix’s megahit horror/sci-fi seriesStranger Thingsreturns to the airways for Season 3 in the summer of 2019, it’ll be set in the year 1985. That’s when Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power, New Coke hit supermarket shelves, andWe Are the Worldruled radio. 1985 is also the year the Chevy Chase comedyFletchhit theaters nationwide. While bringing upFletchmay seem like a no sequitur,Stranger Thingsmainstay David Harbour recently told Variety the film, directed by Michael Ritchie and based on the novel by Gregory McDonald, is a major influence on the upcoming season.
“[Showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer] are so specific each year with the movies. AndFletchis one movie we get to play around and have some fun with this season. You wouldn’t expect [that] fromStranger Thingsand you wouldn’t expect from the Spielberg universe and you certainly wouldn’t expect from a darker season.”
“A veritable chameleon, investigative reporter Irwin ‘Fletch’ Fletcher (Chevy Chase) might drive his editor (Richard Libertini) up the wall, but he always produces great pieces for the newspaper. When his next story is about the drug trade taking place on the beach, Fletch goes undercover as a homeless man. Unaware of Fletch’s true identity, businessman Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson) offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the full story behind the offer.”
Stranger Things Season 3will introduce a character named Bruce, played by Jake Busey. He’s been described as a somewhat unhinged journalist, so many fans are hypothesizing he’ll be theFletchallusion. It’s also possible thatFletchwill serve as a theme or motif as opposed to a specific character, with the kids utilizing disguises and investigative journalism techniques in order to solve a mystery. Time will tell. As for what else fans can expect whenStranger Thingsreturns in 2019, Harbour discussed how his relationship with Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown) will evolve:
“Their relationship is going to get far more complex, because, you know, things happen to girls and boys when they’re 13 and 14. A lot of changes go on in the body and in your social life, and I don’t think he’s going to handle watching her become a woman in front of his eyes very well. That’s a horrifying thing for him - maybe even more so than fighting inter-dimensional monsters.”
In addition to Busey, newcomers forStranger ThingsSeason 3 include: Maya Thurman-Hawke (daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke) whose character Variety described as “an ‘alternative girl’ bored with her mundane day job”; Francesca Reale who will be playing Heather, a popular lifeguard at the Hawkins' community swimming pool; and Cary Elwes who will play the “handsome, slick, and sleazy” politician Mayor Kline. Season 3 will also see an elevated role for Priah Ferguson, who was a consummate scene-stealer as Lucas’s sister Erica in Season 2. Many fans are hoping the Duffers will find a way to bring fan-favorite Barb back, but don’t hold your breath! This news came our way viaVarietywho got the exclusive.
