Stranger Things: 1986-87 References We Need In Season 4
So far, fans don't really know when Stranger Things season 4 will take place. Now that production has been put on hold, the show could flash forward, making the gap between seasons 3 and 4 larger than originally scripted. Because season 1 took place in 1983, though, season 2 in 84, and season 3 in 85, we can logically expect that season 4 will occur in 1986, or perhaps 1987 given the lapse in production time.
A big part of the Netflix series' appeal is its 1980s nostalgia, for every episode is riddled with relics of the past and references to pop culture and world events from their respective years. 1986 and 1987 had a lot to offer, so here are ten references from those years that we hope to see show up in the fourth and final season of Stranger Things.
10 Chernobyl
Given that Russians invaded Hawkins in season 3 and that the season 4 trailer suggests that Hopper is somehow still alive in the Soviet Union, the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster surely has a place in Stranger Things going forward. The disaster's story is so fascinating in and of itself that it already has its own historical drama series on HBO. The oddities and mysteries surrounding the iconic Chernobyl disaster are the exact kind of material that would fit well in Stranger Things. The event has the potential to be more than a mere reference, but even a plot point in the series.
9 Berlin Wall Speech
President Ronald Reagan has shown up a couple times in Stranger Things, his face plastered on TV screens, addressing the nation in the background. In June of 1987, the President gave one of his most memorable speeches before the Iron Curtain in West Berlin, where he urged General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear Down This Wall!" As aforementioned, the Soviet Union played a major role in Stranger Things season 3, and will likely come back in season 4. Thus, Reagan's famous Cold War address would be an appropriate shout out to include in the series.
8 Legend Of Zelda
The kids in Stranger Things are first generation gamers with tastes for the fantasy genre. Season 2 even opens up with Dustin and Lucas facing off in the arcade classic, Dragon's Lair. 1986 marks the year that the first Legend Of Zelda game came out on the (now ancient) Famicom Disk System. The sequel, Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link, was released shortly afterward in 1987. Odds are, at least one of the Stranger Things crew will have a copy of this action-adventure video game relic, and that they will play it with immense fervor and fanaticism.
7 Ferris Bueller's Day Off
While this is not confirmed, chronology suggests that the main characters in Stranger Things will finally become students at Hawkins High School in season 4. There is no shortage of teen movies worth referencing from the 80s, but one of the most memorable ones was released in June 1986: Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
If the young high schoolers in Stranger Things need to skip class, play hooky, or drive away in a 250 GT California Spyder Ferrari, they might as well do it while belting "Twist And Shout" or taking a few other queues from Matthew Broderick's lovable teenage slacker.
6 Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi already had its sonic debut on the Stranger Things soundtrack with 1984's "Runaway" appropriately playing in a season 2 episode. 1986, however, was the year the band released its magnum opus: Slippery When Wet. This career-defining album included songs such as "Livin' On A Prayer," "You Give Love A Bad Name," and "Wanted Dead Or Alive." There are also seven other deep tracks on the record, so Season 4 is bound to have an occasion for at least one of them. After all, the album was one of the top records for both 86 and 87.
5 U2
Another band that broke through the mold in 1987 was U2. The alternative rock trendsetters came out with the famous album The Joshua Tree that year, featuring songs such as "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Where The Streets Have No Name," and "With Or Without You." These moving power-ballads carry deep emotional weight and are thoroughly ahead of their time. Any one of them could fit comfortably in a Stranger Things finale, especially if the Duffer brothers are aiming for a tear jerking farewell at the end of it all.
4 Naked Eye Supernova
This one might be a little esoteric, but for young astro physics nerds like Mike, Lucas, Will and Dustin, it's surely noteworthy. The SN 1987A Supernova was the first supernova to have its light reach Earth in centuries. A star exploded 168,000 lightyears away and its light arrived at our humble planet in February, 1987. Although most of the light was only visible in the Southern Hemisphere, the Stranger Things kids could still get excited by this scientific anomaly, and given the plausible global nature of season 4, there's even a chance that the characters might get to see this celestial image firsthand.
3 Halley's Comet
Another 1980s astrological phenomenon (this one a bit more celebrated by the laymen population), the famous Halley's Comet passed by Earth in March of 1986. The dazzling Comet is visible from our planet roughly once every 75 years. The fact that the Stranger Things kids are alive to witness one of its visits, especially at such a youthful point in their lives, is a cause for celebration and excitement. The Comet's wide ranging visibility across the sky could also be a link between Hawkins, Indiana and other places around the globe... perhaps even Soviet Russia.
2 Stand By Me
No coming of age story can resist taking at least one beat from the bildungsroman classic, Stand By Me. Anytime the Stranger Things kids are riding their bikes or walking on train tracks through the woods, the Duffer brothers are (knowingly or unknowingly) emulating this film. The movie, however, actually came out in August of 1986, so season 4 would be the first time that it actually exists in the Stranger Things diegesis.
While the series has latently referenced the movie before, it could do so more pointedly and directly in season 4. Maybe the characters will stumble across a dead body in the woods, go on a bonding camping trip in the forest, or dodge an oncoming train. Hopefully they'll be able to avoid any leeches and pie-eating contests, though.
1 Predator
An Arnold Schwarzenegger staple, Predator is a movie that absolutely needs recognition in Stranger Things. So far, season 4's monster is unknown, but perhaps it will be a Soviet-bred, weaponized demogorgan designed to hunt down Americans for sport, much like the title creature in this 1987 sci-fi action feature. Even if the Duffer brother's don't want to be so forward with their Predator references, though, the least they could do is drop a line from the film, reveal an action figure of the original alien, or have someone refer to the season's monster as "one ugly mother..." Such vernacular definitely seems in Hopper's wheelhouse.