‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Release Delayed to Make It Bigger and Better

It looks like the world might have to wait a little longer to return to Hawkins, Indiana.

During Netflix‘s stop on the Television Critics Association press tour, it was revealed that the third season of Stranger Things will not be debuting until Summer 2019. According to Netflix’s VP of Original Content, Cindy Holland, there’s a good reason for the delay.

“It’s a handcrafted show.” Holland explained at the TCA presentation (via TVLine). “[Exec producers] The Duffer brothers and Shawn Levy have worked really hard, and they understand the stakes are high. They want to deliver something bigger and better than what they did last year. And so they really want to take the time to get it right.”

“I think it’s going to be a fantastic season,” Holland added. “It’s gonna be worth the wait.”

For fans of the hit Netflix series, this probably isn’t too much of a surprise, as the third installment was expected to debut sometime in 2019. And in a way, the summery time period was teased during the recent Season 3 teaser, which was framed as a commercial for Hawkins’ local mall.

But don’t let that lighter setting fool you, as it sounds like the latest installment of the series will go to some very specific places.

“[It’s] definitely going to yet darker still, places that I think audiences are going to really love.” Shawn Levy revealed in a recent interview. “It’s got so much heart and humor.”

Series star David Harbour has also given some sort of vague detail, revealing that the season is inspired by some “epic” movies of 1985, but said he would “get in trouble” if he revealed which ones.

“If you’re a real fan of Stranger Things and you really want to know,” Harbour explained. “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.”

“We’re experimenting a lot this season, and we’re taking risks, and I hope that they pay off but they are risks.” Harbour continued. “We’re going into territories we’ve never been to before, and it’s exciting.”

What do you think of Stranger Things season three having a bit of a delay? Let us know what you think in the comments below.