The third season of Stranger Things ended with Hopper seemingly sacrificing himself so Joyce (Winona Ryder) and the others escape. After Joyce and her family leave Hawkins, seemingly for good, we even see Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) reading a touching letter that her adoptive father had written about feelings, boundaries, and love. This gave a sense of finality to Hopper’s story... or did it?

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A final teaser scene showed some guards in a Russian prison executing inmates by feeding them to a Demogorgon, with one exception: The American. This led to all sorts of theories about who was in that cell and whether it was Sheriff Hopper. The answer seemed to be pretty obvious, and I guess Netflix didn’t want to waste any time teasing out the reveal. Sheriff Hopper is alive. It’s unclear what else Russia has planned following their now-failed attempt to control the Upside Down through a decoy mall, but it can’t be good.

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Stranger Things 4 is currently filming and no release date has been announced.


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