Duffer brothers vaguely tease Stranger Things 4 could go 'outside of Hawkins'

The third season of Stranger Things hasn't even been on Netflix for a full week and it's already raked in a record-breaking audience for the streaming service. Of those record-breaking numbers, roughly half of the 40 million accounts that watched the new season since it's July 4th premiere date have actually stuck through to the finale. Which, of course, means the question of where the series could go should it get picked up for a fourth season has been on people's minds. Luckily, Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers are used to planning ahead. 

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt and Ross Duffer spoke about their ideas for a possible fourth season, and how it would continue to build on the foundation they've laid out over the past three years. 

"I think the biggest thing that’s going to happen is it’s going to open up a little bit, not necessarily in terms of scale, in terms of special effects, but open up in terms of allowing portals into areas outside of Hawkins," Matt Duffer teased. 

**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers (upside) down below for Stranger Things 3!**

The idea of Stranger Things 4 taking place beyond the town of Hawkins, Indiana could mean a few things based on where things were left off. First, there was the whole re-opening of the portal to the Upside Down, and there was the fact that the Byers family, along with a now-powerless Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown), were preparing to leave the town altogether. Finally, there was that ominous cliffhanger at a prison cell in Kamchatka, Russia, with guards tasked to feed prisoners to the now-captured Demogorgon, just "not the American." 

"Assuming there’s a Season 4, obviously the question of who that American is in that cell, and then also what they’re doing with the Demogorgon, is a tease," Ross Duffer explained. "That’s obviously going to play a huge role in a potential season four."

Despite some plans being in place, the Duffers were clear that they don't have the (still theoretical) fourth season mapped out to a tee. 

"We don’t know a lot, but we do know a lot of the big broad strokes," Ross Duffer said. "It’s just now about filling in those lines in the details. We’re pretty excited about where it’s potentially going to go. Again, like we said, it’s going to feel very different than this season. But I think that’s the right thing to do and I think it’ll be exciting."

Any ideas on where you'd like to see the next season of Stranger Things go, assuming it happens? Let us know in the comments.