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Spilling STRANGER THINGS Season 2 Secrets with Director/EP Shawn Levy!

Strap on your finest sensory deprivation outfit and hook yourselves up to some electrodes because we are falling head over feet into some major Stranger Things season two details thanks to the Duffer Brothers’ second-in-command, director Shawn Levy. Levy stopped by Nerdist News Talks Back and not only dropped some hints about the Halloween-y sophomore outing of the ’80s nostalgia romp, he also talked to us about his next big project: the Uncharted film.

But first thing’s first: those kooky kids in Hawkins, Indiana. Stating that a third season was “highly likely” (because duh doy, Britta), Levy, the Duffers, and everyone else definitely felt the pressure of the overwhelmingly positive reaction to season one.

“The pressure is a part of our lives now,” Levy explained, “and it definitely forced us to film with security protocols that we got from Game of Thrones.” (And yes, he noted the irony of that now, thanks to all those pesky leaks.)

One thing not affected by the pressure, though? The story—an easy trap to fall into when you have as much fan appreciation and obsession (and easy access thanks to Twitter) expressed to the people that create it. “We made season one just because we thought it would be cool; now a lot of it is [about] … knowing when to ignore the cultural noise,” Levy explained. Which means that even though Eleven will be back in Stranger Things season 2, eating “a gross number in a single scene” of Eggos, it won’t be in EVERY scene and all the and also involve Barb.

He also discussed some of the new characters, like Paul Reiser who “plays a new doctor at Hawkins Lab that wasn’t in season one” and when the Duffers first pitched the character, they actually named him Reiser in the script. (Good thing they got him on board!) Levy also reiterated what many of the cast members have already stated: Sean Astin as Bob, a local Radio Shack employee and possibly love interest for Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers, is the new fan favorite.

And we even asked Levy, point blank, about our theory that Will is a major bad in season two:

“I can neither confirm or deny that theory. All I’m going to say … between the end of season 1 and what we’ve seen in the trailers, clearly Will is not right. Stuff happens to him and stuff is happening to him and he is very much at the center of season 2.”

But that wasn’t all we got from busybody Levy, who’s also working with that young, fresh spidey that you like, Tom Holland on the new Uncharted film. And if you were hoping for a young Indiana Jones-style prequel Nathan Drake adventure…you’re in luck (and have an oddly fine-tuned sense of what this film is going to be)!

“I met with Tom Holland and he put it really succinctly,” Levy explained. “If we do the origin of Drake, that hasn’t been done before.” He called it a “treasure hunting film with attitude” that adds context you wouldn’t get from simply playing the game. “It’s a Drake chapter that hasn’t been told … an Indiana Jones story for a generation that didn’t grow up on Indiana Jones.”

As for all you Night at the Museum (shhh, our numbers are legion) fans, Levy also mentioned that “I think there’s a chance of another, [but] I don’t think there will be one any time soon. There’s talks of doing an animated series, or one in China,” and “a few other off-shoots,” but he and Stiller both feel as though “we’ve closed that book.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below and keep it locked to Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday at 1pm PST on YouTube and Alpha!

Image: Netflix

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