With all those big shoulders and giant scrunchies on display, it’s clear that the Duffer brothers have dialled up the nostalgia factor for this year’s instalment of Stranger Things – and that they’ve used the 1985 time-jump to explain why Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Max (Sadie Sink), Will (Noah Schnapp) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) have all begun to look so grown up.

As Mike puts it: “We’re not kids anymore. I mean, what did you think? We’re just gonna sit in my basement and play games for the rest of our lives?”

Growing up for these guys, though, doesn’t just mean swapping Dungeons & Dragons for trips to the mall. Instead, it demands that they contend with armed assassins (thin Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator, only scarier) and newer, fleshier, scarier critters from the Upside Down, too. Eep.

Thankfully, David Harbour’s Chief Jim Hopper, Natalia Dyer’s Nancy, Charlie Heaton’s Jonathan, and Joe Keery’s Steve With The Good Hair will all be on hand to help, not to mention Robin (Maya Thurman-Hawke), a new character who is set to uncover yet another “dark secret” in Hawkins. Also joining the cast are Cary Elwes who will play the “sleazy” Mayor Kline and Jake Busey who plays a “questionable journalist.” Francesca Reale was also cast to play a popular lifeguard to the community Hawkin’s pool.

And we imagine it will take the efforts of all of these guys, and more, if the rumours turn out to be true: could fan favourite Dustin be the villain that everyone needs to face down in this season, after all?

“I believe it was Shawn Levy who mentioned that with the kids growing up, it’s possible that they don’t like playing D&D as much as they used to,” noted one Reddit user. “This could prove especially true for Mike and Lucas since they are in relationships with El and Max respectively, but Dustin might not be ready to move on just yet…”

The Stranger Things 3 trailer has landed, and the American dream is over