November 6th marks the anniversary of when Will Byers went missing from Hawkins, Indiana while riding his bike home at night. To commemorate the day of that fictional incident, Stranger Things Day was created in 2018. In short, the occasion honors one of the best shows to binge on Netflix. Since then, the unofficial holiday has been celebrated annually, and the streamer is currently teasing this year's festivities. With that, I have some hopes regarding what might be revealed.
The official Stranger Things account on Instagram teased what’s to arrive on this coming Monday. In a post that was shared, an image of a VHS tape is inserted into a videocassette player with 11:06 flashing on the digital clock below. The tagline of the poster reads: “Return to Stranger.” Take a look for yourself:
While many fans, including myself, are probaby hopeful that this year's celebration will update us regarding what we know about Stranger Things Season 5, I’m not so sure that'll be the case. After all, the tweet very clearly says the day will allow us to “look back on our time in Hawkins.” It’s a bit of a bummer but an understandable one, given that SAG-AFTRA is still on strike. Still, there are tons of great details that could still be revealed this year. Here’s a few I’m hoping for:
I Want To Learn More About Stranger Things: The First Shadow
November is going to be a big month for the Stranger Things franchise, as the first-ever play adapted from the show is set to premiere on November 17th at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Set in the 1950s, the production explores what was going on in Hawkins when Henry Creel (who would later become Vecna) first moved to town. That would be the perfect event to highlight on the viral holiday, as it tracks with this year's “looking back at Hawkins” mantra.
Fans have already been introduced to the cast and likely know which characters are and aren’t included in The First Shadow. However, I’d like to learn even more! Maybe we'll get a quick scene or even a glimpse of what the set is going to look like.
Audition Tapes For Season 4 Actors Would Be Lovely
The holiday usually features some kind of bonus footage from past seasons, and I think that tradition will continue this year. While we already have a blooper reel for Season 4, we’ve yet to see audition tape footage for new characters such as Eddie Munson (played by Joseph Quinn) and Henry/Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell Bower). Now would be the perfect time to release those tapes — the former of which could definitely get fans wondering if Eddie is really dead.
I'm Hoping For Official Season 3 & 4 DVD Collector’s Set Announcements
While Seasons 1 and 2 of Stranger Things were officially released on DVD in an incredibly cool VHS-style collector’s case, seasons 3 and 4 are still only available with an active Netflix subscription. Given that streaming services like Max have been removing shows with little to no warning, fans have been begging for the release of the additional two seasons of the Duffer Brothers' show, so they can add them to their physical media collections. I personally think the ST Day would be the perfect occasion on which to drop them, especially with the holidays just around the corner.
A New Season Of Beyond Stranger Things
In 2017, Netflix created Beyond Stranger Things, a seven-part documentary that looked back on the underrated second season (which deserves more love). It featured interviews with the cast and in-depth discussions with the Duffers about the world they created. The project was a massive hit with fans but, unfortunately, the documentary was never brought back.
As someone who has many questions about what went into creating Seasons 3 and 4, I would love to see the docuseries resurrected. Not to mention, it would help to tide fans over until the final season arrives.
Let's Get Some Season 5 Teases
Netflix has tried to make it clear that this year’s celebration will focus on a “look back,” but I still can’t help but hope we also get some info about the fifth and final season. After the end of Season 4, Volume 2, I began to suspect that time travel is going to play a big role in the final season, and the teaser for the holiday only spurred that popular Stranger Things theory on more. Perhaps this the team's way of giving us a hint about what's to come.
In the past, this holiday has also been when they unveiled the episode titles. In fact, last year’s celebration gave us the title of the Season 5 premiere: “The Crawl.” If the scripts were all completed before the WGA strike began, then this would be the right time to reveal them. Let's hope that at least a few of the wishes listed here come true!
Keep your eyes peeled on November 6 to see what Stranger Things Day has to offer. Until then, keep streaming the show on Netflix.
