‘Stranger Things’ Season 3 Trailer Released by Netflix

Netflix has released the first official trailer for Stranger Things Season 3, gearing fans up to return to the Upside Down.

More than a year after Season 2 of the popular Netflix original series debuted, the streaming giant gave fans their first official look into the upcoming season on Wednesday.

Netflix had announced on Nov. 1 that Tuesday, Nov. 6 would mark the first ever Stranger Things Day, a day that many fans speculated would bring the release of the first trailer for the third season. However, at the time, Netflix remained mum on what exactly the special day would entail.

Originally believed to have been slated for an October 2018 release, following in the footsteps of its first two seasons, Netflix later announced that the upcoming season’s release had been delayed in order for the Duffer brothers “to deliver something bigger and better” than in past years, which have seen Eleven take on both the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer.

Details for the upcoming season have been few and far between since, though a few details have been given, including that the season will take place in 1985, the very year in which Hawkins, Indiana is introduced to a new world of shopping with the debut of The Starcourt Mall. Although not explicitly stated at the time the teaser for the mall, boasting a “state of the art” food court, will likely play a major part in the season, which is said to include the most challenging storyline yet.

“There’s a certain storyline that’s challenging that we have to keep going back to the well for,” casting director Carmen Cuba told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s a lot of secrecy, and we can’t say what parts we’re looking for, so it’s still a weird challenge. We know that if we said, ‘We’re looking for this and it’s for Stranger Things,’ we would have tons more options, but it’s still a lot of work.”

While fans can expect to see the return of their favorite characters– minus Bob Newby, who sadly died in Season 2– they can also expect to see the return of one of the series’ biggest villains, the Mind Flayer. While it appeared as though Eleven had defeated the tentacled creature, it reportedly “hasn’t lost interest in Hawkins” and “continues to loom near Hawkins inside the Upside Down, and its malevolent influence isn’t absent from the new season.”

Stranger Things Season 3 premieres on Thursday, July 4 on Netflix. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for streaming.