1. Updated Hawkins.

The trailer has shown Hawkins getting an upgrade, with views of the new mall, fair, and even a new clothing style. If you don't know already, the season will take place in the summer of 1985, which is about a year since the end of the last season. Yes, it's not a huge time jump, but it seems that Hawkins is growing from the old small town that we love, to an up-to-date town. This could have to do with Hawkins' new mayor, Mayor Kline. He is played by Cary Elwes, who plays Westley in The Princess Bride, and Lawerence Gordon in the Saw franchise. Mayor Kline seems to have a Mayor-from-Jaws impression ignoring an oncoming threat and wanting his town to seem like the spot to be. I predict this will blow up in his face as it did to the mayor in Jaws.

Another sight we are used to seeing is the Hawkins National Laboratory doesn't seem to show up in any of the trailers. I don't find this surprising at all, with all operations ceasing and the government moving out. The lab was left empty, besides all the death and fear it held. This is why I think it was torn down and replaced with a new mall. The new mayor wants to erase all the bad things his town is known for and wants to draw in more people, so I think he wanted to build a venue that will draw in joy and happiness. Speaking of a lab, there is a possibility Hawkins could get a new one. In the trailer, we see a new machine that shoots out a beam of energy, fry some people in masks, and ultimately go haywire. I don't exactly know what this machine is doing besides blowing up planets and trying to catch some rebels, (Star Wars reference by the way), but it leads us to suspect there is a new lab. Hawkins National Laboratory had a variety of tunnels and passageways, so it could be under the mall if the mall is built on top of the old sight of Hawkins National Laboratory. It's also possible that we could be introduced to a new kind of lab, which would be a nice accompaniment to the newly updated Hawkins.

2. Characters Growing And Introducing New Ones.

In the trailers, we see our beloved main characters a year older. The kids we have come to love have changed and are becoming young adults. We never really wanted to see this because of the humor that came out of all of them not facing reality because of their pure, young minds. However, since Hawkins seems to be growing, so should our characters. I think in this season the person to take the maturing the hardest is Will. He was gone in the Upside Down for the first season, and then in season two, he was possessed by The Mind Flayer. He missed a fun part of his childhood that should be filled with fun times with friends and family, dealign with a fight for survival instead. Will doesn't want to grow up because he is scared.

We also see our other teen characters growing, including a few of them getting jobs. We see Steve getting a job at the mall at a place called "Scoops Ahoy". Here we meet a new character who works with Steve at Scoops Ahoy named Robin. We see Nancy and Jonathan applying or starting jobs at The Hawkins Post, which makes sense because they are the two leading detectives in the show. We get to see Max's brother Billy get a job as a lifeguard at the local pool. One of the names of the episodes called "The Case Of The Missing Life Guard". I will further explain this theory later.

Other characters we see include Chief Hopper and Joyce, who seems to be growing in romance we get a whiff of in previous seasons. I mainly say this because we see a shot of them holding hands, as well as Hopper dressing all nice and at a restaurant waiting for a date. This may be particularly hard for Joyce because of her boyfriend Bob from last season getting brutally killed and eaten by Demodogs. We also see Murray Bauman in the trailers, and he could be investigating my earlier theory on a new lab at Hawkins. Besides Robin, we see two other new faces in the trailer as well. One of them, Bruce, seems to be playing a villain this season, other than that I don't see any other clues on what he does. I will explain why I think he is a villain in a later theory. We also see a person that has yet to be named. He is shown snooping around what looks like Chief Hopper's police car, and we see him and Hopper fight later on by the energy ray machine. I think he is a new mercenary, hired by the same people that built the engine. It seems Hopper is the first one to spot unnatural things happening in Hawkins, with the agreement that Hopper keeps everything quiet for Hawkins National Laboratory, and seeing that fall apart in season two. This new lab is taking extreme measures to make sure everything goes smoothly. Whoever he is, he looks like you don't want to cross his denim jacketed path.

3. Same Enemy, New Monster.

We are all familiar with season two enemy, The Mind Flayer, the big "shadow monster' we see in the Upside Down and partially in Will. Last season we never really see the part of Mind Flayer go back through the portal before Eleven shut the gate. I think that part of him is trying to get back home, or let the bigger other part of it in. This brings up my other two theories I brought up earlier. I think in order to survive, the part of Mind Flayer left on earth is feeding off of other people, much like Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I think the first host of Mind Flayer, or the part of him on earth, will fall on Billy. We will see a bit more physical effect on the host than we see in season two. Billy is pictured growing with black veins and bloody scabs forming across his body. Because of this, I believe the Mind Flayer is going hold Billy hostage to help get more victims to feed on, or it will kill Billy. With Billy being the selfish jerk he is, he will follow through with this. I think through the season we will see Billy collect victims for the Mind Flayer to feed on.

I also don't think the Mind Flayer will feed on all of the victims Billy brings to it. This is when I bring up Bruce, the new character we see in the trailers looking just as messed up as Billy. Bruce has black veins growing across his body and looking bloody. Bruce will likely rack up a kill count spreading mayhem across Hawkins. In the trailers, we see a new monster that looks like nothing we have ever seen in the show. I believe this isn't a monster from the Upside Down, I believe it's what is growing inside Bruce, Billy, and possibly more hosts. I think these hosts will mutate and transform into the new monster. I say this because we see the two main hosts' bodies break down and transform. It would also explain why the monster looks like it has many of the same body parts and looks mashed-up and sloppy, but simultaneously terrifying.

4. The Final Showdown.

The trailers have shown many shots of our characters arming up and preparing themselves for battle, possibly preparing to fight off the new monster or the hosts that the Mind Flayer has infected. Either way, I think the final battle for this season will be in the new mall and the new lab, which means our characters will have to split up to fight on two fronts.

As I said before, I think the mall will be built on top of the old Hawkins National Laboratory, or built on top of the tunnels and labs underneath of it. In the new season we will see the government roll back into the lab and continue with the operation. In the final fight in the underground laboratory, I think Hopper, Joyce, and Murray will sneak inside and try to turn that machine off. We see an iconic shot of Hopper and the mystery hitman squaring off in front of the machine. We also see Joyce struggling to reach a button with shaky hands. Her condition implies she is scared, tired, or in pain. This fight will probably leave some of the characters wounded, so be ready for and heart-shattering shots impacting them.

In the mall, we seem to have all of our kids arming themselves, again. In previous shots we see Johnathan wielding an axe, ready to swing, and Nancy giving a very expressive pump of a shotgun. These scenes seem to be in someone's house, either Will's or maybe Mike's, since Nancy would know where to find the gun. I think the characters will protect this house from the invasion, probably from hosts of the Mind Flayer. The characters will learn where the hosts are headed, most likely the mall, where the hosts will try to use the machine to bring back the bigger half of Mind Flayer to earth. Hopper, Joyce, and Murray will take their fight to the lab while the kids try to slow down the hosts in the mall. Here we will see the hosts combine bodies and turn into the new monster. I don't have much insight on this battle, but if I were to guess, it will be a heart-racing fight and will end with Eleven screaming and using her powers against the monster.

5. Eleven And The Upside Down.

In the trailers, we see Eleven use her powers in numerous ways, including her holding back some nasty looking claws in a house. This is probably the house fight I was talking about previously, but debunks my theory that the attack on the house was by the monster. I think the hosts will combine turning into the beast. In this fight we see Eleven struggling to hold back the talons, so I think she was using her powers previously and her battery is drained. I say this because we see Eleven using her powers to visit the upside down. Before the attack, Eleven was using her powers to see if Mind Flayer is making another gate to get to earth. We also see the kids set up an antenna, and I think this antenna will help boost Eleven's powers. I think it will cover all of Hawkins so that Eleven can expand her powers, and drop the need for the use of a TV or a radio.

The Upside Down was also seen in the trailers, but we don't see very much of it. We see more of Mind Flayer's storm cloud. This had led me to believe that the Upside Down won't be the center of attention in this season like it was in previous seasons. I think this is a good move in the show since we have been focused on the Upside Down for two seasons. I think the focus will be on the mission of the part of Mind Flayer trying to get back to the more significant part of itself, which would be in the Upside Down. I predict the Upside Down won't be a crucial part in the season till the end, where I ultimately predict the Mind Flayer will win and open the gate again. Yes, that's something we don't want to happen, but if the bigger, worse enemy is trapped in a separate world, then he will need to win to get back to earth. It's a big stretch, but I think it needs to happen for the show to expand.

6. Will There Be Any Deaths?

In the trailers we see our characters facing off against threats, and putting their lives on the line as usual. But will that mean any of our beloved characters die in this season? I don't think any of the "good guy" characters will die because each of them I predict will play an important role for next season. The only characters I see dying in this season is Billy, Bruce, and the hitman guy that has no name as of yet. I can't make any solid theories because the trailers don't show any dramatic fight sequences.

7. Pop Culture References And Similarities.

These trailers have many subtle references to pop culture. As I said before the new Mayor Kline gives off the impression like the mayor from Jaws. Speaking of Jaws, the new season has some very Stephen Speilberg shots. For instance, the shots with the kids hiding behind counters and cars looks like the scene from Jurassic Park with our heroes hiding behind cabinets from velociraptors, as well as some very wide panning shots that keep our center of attention on one person while chaos roars around them.

We also have a lot of Stephen King references, with low luminous mysterious shots of our monster. This alludes to the monster from The Thing. The slingshot that Lucas uses looks like the slingshot The Loser Club uses in IT. The latest remake of IT had Finn Wolfhard, Mike, as one of the kids in The Losers Club, making for an interesting, multi-faceted reference, if intentional. We also hear in the previous seasons one of the characters describe the situation with monsters and unnatural appearances as "something right out of a Stephen King book".

Stephen King and Stephen Speilberg have helped innovate the way Stranger Things was filmed and how the plot rolls out. I don't think the show will stop using references, because it helps connects the world of entertainment. It also helps out the other people who created these shots and stories that help Stranger Things grow.