Stranger Things 3 will begin production in April and is expected to wrap in September.

We’re starting to get more and more information as it relates to Stranger Things 3. We know it’s going to be a long wait until the new season hits Netflix, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited over every little bit of news that comes to light.

Earlier this month, we learned that Stranger Things will go back to an eight-episode season, which is what they did for their first season. The Duffer Brothers extended the episode total to nine for Stranger Things 2, but that was the outlier as that season contained “The Lost Sister” episode that saw Eleven go on a mission to find her long-lost sister from Hawkins Lab.

That episode was more or less a standalone episode that was a total departure from what we’ve seen to that point. I liked the episode because it was a total departure and had some not-so-subtle Star Wars references, which I thought was pretty neat, but I was in the minority because it has the lowest rating on IMDB from fellow fans, and by a wide margin. So season 3 will mean we won’t have those types of departures and disrupt the binge-watching marathon.

And now we know that production on those eight episodes will begin on April 23 and has a target date to wrap production on Sept. 14, according to SpoilerTV. The 4.5-month production schedule means it’ll take about a little more than two weeks to shoot each episode.

Now, the most frequently asked question about Stranger Things is about the season 3 release date and the production schedule helps narrow our projected release date.

Fans can expect the post-production to take roughly just as long so if production wraps in mid-September, we could see Stranger Things 3 released around March of 2019. That’s the earliest we can expect to see the eight new episodes. So yes, it’s a long wait, but the work is being done to make sure the new season lives up to the standards set by the first two seasons.

The last thing die-hard fans want is to have episodes rushed out and have them be inferior to what they’re used to.

The next bit of news we’re waiting to hear is the casting announcements. Last year saw Sadie Sink, Dacre Montgomery, Paul Reiser and Sean Astin join the cast. I expect another four-five new cast members to play a prominent role in season 3. And once we get the casting announcements and character details, we can start speculating who is going to be a new love interest or who is the new antagonist.

Until then, you can enjoy the first two seasons of Stranger Things on Netflix to help the time pass until season 3 arrives.