The third season of Stranger Things ended with a shocker as the fan-favorite Sheriff Hopper made the ultimate sacrifice in the battle to prevent the Russians from opening a portal to the Upside Down. But as the cast of children bid the Byers and Eleven farewell, the Netflix series dealt viewers another surprise with an after-credits scene that teased that there was a chance Hopper was, in fact, still alive.
While seasons of Stranger Things have always been highly anticipated, the Season 3 cliffhangers turned the upcoming Season 4 into, perhaps, the series' most anticipated yet. As fans comb over every possible detail of information available to figure out where the series might be heading next, the Stranger Things social media accounts have just launched a brand new mystery. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the series' official pages have changed their profile pictures to one of an upside down clock -- and yes, it's in the Upside Down.
Clearly, this is an orchestrated move, and fans have taken notice. Already, on Reddit, theories are flying left and right as to what this new profile picture could possibly mean. Shortly after the photo change, Stranger Things' Season 4 was officially announced by Netflix. Shortly after that, Netflix released a teaser that shows the series logo seemingly engulfed by the Upside Down as a clock chimes over the phrase "We're not in Hawkins any more."
For the moment, it's not entirely clear what all of this clock imagery means.
First off, some fans believe that the clock itself isn't necessarily a tease at the plot of Season 4, but rather a timeline that might reveal when we'll get footage. Some have theorized that since Season 2 of the series premiered close to Halloween, we might get an official announcement of sorts of perhaps even a first trailer as soon as the end of the month of October. Moreover, others have thrown around the idea that perhaps this could signal the arrival of a special Christmas-themed episode, much like the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina did in 2018.
However, there are other fans who believe the clock is more directly tied to the plot of Season 4. It's been theorized the clock could signal a time-jump in Season 4, something that could make sense considering the rapid rate at which the series' teenage actors are growing. However, others believe the clock is a symbol of what will be at the heart of Season 4, and that, somehow, time-travel will factor into the plot of Stranger Things. While this theory is certainly far-fetched, it's not technically improbable, considering the supernatural forces at play on the series.
A crazier theory even stipulates that perhaps this clock is a signal that Season 4 could be coming sooner than we believed. While it hasn't received an official release date as of yet, there were previous rumors that Seasons 3 and 4 of the series had filmed back-to-back. With the release of this clock, some believe the reason Season 4 has no release date yet is because Netflix will release it without a prior announcement. This is something the streaming service has done on several occasions, such as with The Cloverfield Paradox. There's no telling whether the series could show up with little or no warning on Halloween, Christmas or a date hidden within the original image of the clock itself. .
Right now, the teaser has raised far more questions than answers, and fans have nothing to do but theorize and wait. The basic idea of a clock and its chimes, other than to indicate time, is to evocative a countdown of a sorts. The biggest question remaining is what is Stranger Things counting down to?
Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Priah Ferguson, Cary Elwes, Jake Busey and Maya Thurman-Hawke. All three seasons are currently available for streaming on Netflix.
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