The teaser trailer for season 3 of Netflix hit, Stranger Things promises all manner of ’80s fun, but producer,Shawn Levy, says it will be the darkest season, and ’80s action/horror master John Carpenter’s influence looms.

It’s been almost one month since a teaser of season 3’s Netflix super-hit Stranger Things was released. The trailer filled with all manner of ’80s gobbledygook, transplants us from the austere present into a world of blaring neon lights, beeping arcades and a state of the art food court at the Starcourt Mall.

The teaser offered us a fun look at part of what we love about Stranger Things but not why we watch. Sure, the ’80s sentimentality is fun, but the show has been driven by great script writing, adolescent kinship and elements of nail-biting sci-fi horror. It’s what separates Stranger Things from other entertainment mediums which usually rely too heavily on nostalgic overtures becoming stale and played out after the initial wave is over.

But producer Shawn Levy promised it’ll be more darkness than neon in a recent interview.

“There’s no question that, as you saw in that infomercial, Starcourt Mall is a part of season 3. As is summertime,” Levy said. “So season 3 has a really healthy dose of poppy, bright levity and cultural fun. But I can only promise you that season 3 eventually goes places that are darker, and unquestionably more action-packed, than we’ve ever gone before.”

If Stranger Things is looking to move into a grittier, action-packed tone, it may be taking cues from another eighties purveyor of classic action and horror films in John Carpenter. Some of Carpenter’s work throughout the 1980s ranges from horror cinema such as The Thing to iconic ’80s action staples like Big Trouble in Little China.

How these elements will play out is anyone’s guess. Very little is known about the upcoming except for the few small nuggets we get from the producers and actors. What is known is that there will be a long wait until the third season is ready to be binged — the summer of 2019, to be exact.

Levy revealed in past interviews that Mike and Eleven will be together, as will Lucas and Max, and the next chapter will take place a year after the events of season 2. And, since the story will take place in 1985, be on the lookout for copious amounts of Back To The Future references.

Until then, we wait and hope the writers don’t forget about Rocky IV along the way.