After Netflix’s surprise success of “Stranger Things” in July of 2016, they were already teasing a return to the Upside Down by January. It took a little over a year for “Stranger Things 2” to premiere, with Netflix streaming the Halloween-themed second season this past October. It felt as if this could become an annual event, but realistically it seemed improbable that “Stranger Things 3” would find its way onto Netflix by October of 2018.

David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper on the series, confirms that we’ll be waiting until at least 2019 for the return of the Demogorgons. He explained to Variety that the show’s creators, the Duffer brothers, need time to work out the scripts.

“I mean, one of the things that’s annoying for fans is that it takes us a long time to do them,” he said. “Like, you probably won’t get [Season 3] until sometime in 2019. But also part of the thing is, like any good thing, they need time. And those guys work so hard. I mean, they just sit in their apartment and write for 12, 14 hours a day.”

There’s a slight rush in that these kids are growing up quickly, and the Duffer brothers have already confirmed they plan to have a few years pass between the events in Season 2 and the forthcoming Season 3.

It’ll be interesting to see how a newly rejuvenated Eleven is utilized, and if Will continues to be a conduit to the Upside Down and it’s horrifying, Lovecraftian Shadow Monster. We’ve got plenty of time to speculate, which is fine with me because it’ll allow me to revisit the first two season multiple times before we all return to Hawkins, Indiana.