‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Spoilers: Everything We Already Know

Despite rumors that Stranger Things might wind up an anthology series (a la American Horror Story), the show’s second season will pick up almost a year after where Season One left off and take place in autumn 1984. Digital Trends reports that most of the cast is expected to return, but actress Millie Bobby Brown just gave an interview where she revealed she still has no idea if Eleven will be back! As you’ll recall, Eleven sacrificed herself to defeat the demogorgon and is now stuck eating Eggo’s in the Upside Down. So it’s possible they’ll keep her down below for the whole of the second season…but we doubt it.

One character who will probably make a surprise comeback? Matthew Modine’s villainous Brenner. Showrunner Matt Duffer told IGN: “I would say that if we were going to kill Brenner … as an audience member watching the show, if that was his death, that would be very unsatisfying to me – when the monster jumps on him and we cut away… He would deserve much more than that as an ending. So yes, there’s a possibility of seeing him again.”

Oh, Barb…we hardly knew thee! Even though the internet rallied around this disposable character and transformed her into a folk hero, the Duffer Brothers have no designs to bring her back. Matt Duffer explained: “I can’t see it happening, but Barb will not be forgotten. We’ll make sure there’s some justice for Barb. People get very frustrated, understandably, that the town doesn’t seem to be really dealing with Barb. That stuff is all happening. We’re just not spending any screen time on it.”

Barb is dead! Long live [the legend of] Barb!

When Netflix announced that Stranger Things was coming back, they also gave speculation junkies a super big gift: the titles of each new episode. They are, in order: “Madmax,” “The Boy Who Came Back to Life,” “The Pumpkin Patch,” “The Palace,” “The Storm,” “The Pollywog,” “The Secret Cabin,” “The Brain,” and “The Lost Brother.”

Screenrant has a very in depth exploration of what all these titles could refer to, but expect the first episode, “Madmax,” to be as much a nod to George Miller’s film series as a bold introduction to one of the show’s big new characters…

Casting is already underway for three new main characters for Season Two of Stranger Things. They are:

• Max, a “tough and confident” 12-14 year old girl who happens to be more of a tomboy. She rides a skateboard.
• Billy, her “very muscular and hyper confident” older brother, who drives a Camaro.
• Roman, a 30-something gender and race neutral character, bent on revenge.

That’s all we know so far, but given the nature of the show, we have some ideas for what they’ll add to the series. Expect Max to tussle with the younger boys, Billy to add complications to Nancy’s life, and Roman to expose more about the secret experiments from last season.

Stranger Things is a loving tribute to the work of Stephen King, John Carpenter, and Steven Spielberg, but next season will expand the show’s roster of influencers. Executive producer Dan Cohen told Yahoo that they are looking at the great sequels of the ‘80s — Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Aliens, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day — for inspiration. Though he added, “You’re still going to feel the Spielberg, Carpenter, Stephen King references given that so many of these characters they inspired are still in the story.”

Get ready for your favorite dark and creepy show to get even bolder.

A rumor took over twitter last week that comedian and actor Patton Oswalt was not only joining the cast of Stranger Things, but that he would be playing the titular “pollywog.” The source of this scoop? None other than Stranger Things star David Harbour:

Twitter went crazy, but as Gizmodo reported, it’s not happening. In fact, Oswalt himself confirmed that it was all a joke:

Banter be damned! It was all false! And it’s a shame because it really was a fun rumor.

[Watch Stranger Things on Netflix]