Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Stranger Things season three.
If you're anything like me, you spent a minimum of eight hours this holiday weekend glued to Stranger Things season three. There was a lot of hype going into the sci-fi series's third installment, but the action-packed, female-powered, Scoops Ahoy–fueled new season did not disappoint. Naturally, we have one big question on the other side of the Battle of Starcourt: What's next for our favorite residents of Hawkins, Indiana?
For right now, it's hard to say. The Duffer Brothers, the show's creators, have said they'd envisioned the series as a four-season arc, meaning there's one last adventure with El, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Mike ahead. But the actual details—like the storyline and release date—are still up in the air. (The closest thing we have to a confirmation is a hint from producer Shawn Levy, who says season four is "definitely" happening.)
The gate to the Upside-Down may be closed (for now), but we're holding out hope that there's still more Stranger Things on the horizon—and the cast seems to agree. Ahead of a (hopeful) fourth season, Glamour asked Cara Buono (Mrs. Wheeler), Natalia Dyer (Nancy Wheeler), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers), Joe Keery (Steve Harrington), and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) where they hope their characters head next. Showrunners, I hope you're listening closely.
Karen Wheeler realizes her potential.
Karen Wheeler faced a big choice in season three: give in to her chemistry with resident bad guy Billy and pursue an affair or stay loyal to her marriage and family. In the end, she chose the latter—but Cara Buono told Glamour she hopes her character will get more screen time and more opportunities to branch out from her stifled housewife role. "There’s a lot of potential. And it’s funny because when I meet a lot of young fans, they really want to see more of Mrs. Wheeler too," she says.
One option: a fresh career outside of the Wheeler residence. "I always thought that Karen was someone who would have gone to law school and be a public defender to give people a voice who didn’t have a voice…or I thought what would be funny is after everything that happens in Hawkins, because people are moving and real estate has really gone down, she becomes a real estate agent! Like, 'I know things seem a little unstable here, but now’s a great time to buy!'”
Dyer wouldn't mind teaming up with her onscreen mom for detective work in future episodes, either. "I want to see more of Karen’s stuff!" she says. "We need more of that just generally in the world, and that’s just ripe for it."
Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers try to make a long-distance relationship work.
Stranger Things season three closed with a series of heartbreaking goodbyes when the Byers family packed up and left Hawkins for good, including the farewell between longtime-couple Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers. And the actors who play them, Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, are as in the dark as we are regarding whether Stranger Things's OTP will last into a fourth season.
"I’m genuinely interested to see what they are going to do, because when we were filming the end and saying goodbye, that was the question, like, are we actually saying goodbye?" Heaton says.
"We don’t know [what will happen for them], and the past two seasons we’ve basically been filming together constantly, and it’s like, ‘Huh, what’s next season going to be like?’" Dyer says. "We’ve been with these characters for three seasons, and we care about them, so I do think whatever happens between them, I hope it’s given time and space and integrity and reality to what they’re going through. I mean, I’m personally invested and interested in Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship, because again, we’ve been creating these characters for years, but I think there’s a relatability to that."
Even if distance is tough for the two characters, it's harder to connect with the outside world after battling a Demogorgon, the Mind Flayer, and misogynistic journalists. "Could you even imagine these characters trying to date other people after what they’ve been through?" Dyer asks.
Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington get some closure.
Nancy and Steve didn't appear onscreen together until the very end of season three. For fans hoping the two will reconnect in a later season—after all, they're both still in Hawkins—Joe Keery, who plays Harrington, says you should reconsider.
"When you develop that kind of relationship with somebody and go through a certain amount of ‘shared trauma,’ as they say in the show, you grow close," Keery says. "And I think they do probably have a soft spot for each other, but I’m not sure if them being together would be moving each other forward or pushing each other back in the past. I think it’s possible, but I’m not sure if it would be for good."
But Dyer says there's still loose ends between Steve and Nancy. "We never quite got a full, I don’t know, a tying-up, closure...I would like that for them. Some Nancy-Steve closure."
Everyone's favorite bromance, that of Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson, will stay strong.
In season two they took on demo-dogs. In season three they took on Russians. And in season four Steve and Dustin will tackle...meaningful friendship?
Hey, the bigger plot points are still up in the air at this point, but Keery says that his big-brother role in Dustin's life could definitely mature if and when the show continues.
"I like to think they’ll continue to grow and move forward as a team, and I’d like to see what new ways they help each other, and then what steps they get to in their relationship where they might not get along," he says. "That might make them appreciate more the levity in their relationship."
Halie LeSavage is a contributing writer at Glamour. Follow her @halielesavage.
