Netflix on Monday debuted Stranger Things Season 3 character posters highlighting its ensemble cast, each promising "one summer can change everything."
Set in the summer of 1985 — a first for the series, so far set during autumn months — Stranger Things 3 will explore new romances, including the Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) coupling, as well as a "new evil."
"We're going to give Will a break," executive producer Shawn Levy told Glamour of Noah Schnapp's tormented character, son of Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and brother to Jonathan (Charlie Heaton).
"We're not going to put Will through hell for a third season in a row. He'll be dealing with stuff, but he won't be at rock bottom the way we forced the amazing Noah Schnapp to play. We're [going to be] dealing with forces of evil that are new."
Other changes include the promotion of of Priah Ferguson, who plays Lucas' younger sister Erica, to recurring, alongside the additions of series newcomers Maya Hawke (Little Women) as Robin, Francesca Reale (Haters Back Off) as Heather, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) as Mayor Kline, and Jake Busey (The Predator) as Bruce.
"I think [creators] the Duffers have such a good nose for the combination of fun and scary, so what is a better setting for that dialectic more than summer? It's parades and the local swimming pool and maybe Billy without a shirt and bonfires and Fourth of July fireworks, so I can tell you that season three makes the most of that summer setting," Levy said.
"It's also a season of change, and changing the season, changing the vibe of that town, which summer does, right? That place feels different in summer, so that was a big part of our theme, which is change has come."
Stranger Things 3 premieres July 4 on Netflix.
