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‘Stranger Things’ Star David Harbour Teases a “Swashbuckling” Jim Hopper in Season 3

Production for the third season if Netflix’s Stranger Things is well underway. The cast and crew gathered back together for the first time for the new season at the end of April. Now that the cast has been back on set for a couple of months, we can finally start to get some details about the upcoming season. Just following the series’ receiving an astounding 12 Emmy nominations, Deadline caught up with series star David Harbour who dished some details on his character’s (Chief Jim Hopper) evolution in season three.

‘Stranger Things’ Star David Harbour Teases a "Swashbuckling" Jim Hopper in Season 3

Before getting into some teasers about Hopper, Harbour talked a bit about the inspiration for season three. It’s well known by the Stranger Things fan base that creators Ross and Matt Duffer (the Duffer Brothers) draw their inspirations from the classic films of the 80s decade. They usually focus on films which debuted during the year the show is taking place. For season three, it looks like fans can expect more of the same as Harbour teased to look towards the 1985 films. He said:

[row]“If you’re a real fan of Stranger Things and you really want to know, I would go look at the great films that were released in ’85, of which there were many, and just go down that list and think of the possibilities that we could be going with. I think it is a specific season to 1985, and so you’ll see references to that.”[/row]

He continued by saying the story is taking some serious risks this season and that, hopefully, it pays off. He continued,“We’re experimenting a lot this season, and we’re taking risks, and I hope that they pay off but they are risks. We’re going into territories we’ve never been to before, and it’s exciting.”

As for Harbour’s character? Well, we can expect to see Jim Hopper return a bit more to his season 1 roots, but he’s not just reverting to original Hopper form. Harbour points out that we will see some of the swashbuckling Hopper from season one mixed in with the newly found fatherly version of Hopper that fans loved from season two. Harbour said:

[row]“We had a little softer season with Jim in Season 2 where he was really working off these fatherly instincts and understanding a responsibility that was larger than himself, and I think one of the things that we missed from Season 1 was this guy who goes into government facilities and punches people in the face. He’s not a doofus, but he’s a bit of a Columbo character.

There was a sort of swashbuckling guy that we put on the back burner, so I think we’ll see a little more of the swashbuckling Hopper you may have liked from Season 1. It’s almost like [Season] 1 plus two, equals three. It’s like you have this third character now, who goes back to the swashbuckling guy of Season 1, but also has behind him this adopted daughter who he loves very much, so it’s really cool.”[/row]

‘Stranger Things’ Star David Harbour Teases a "Swashbuckling" Jim Hopper in Season 3

We love this description of Hopper in season three. Fans loved the interaction between Hopper and his newly (sort of) adopted daughter Eleven (played by Millie Bobby Brown). Brown and Harbour have excellent chemistry on screen together, and their characters very clearly need each other to survive the crazy, upside down world of Hawkins.

We can’t wait to see what season three has in store! Hopefully, more information, and maybe even a trailer, will be released in the upcoming weeks.

Are you excited for season three of Stranger Things? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.