Stranger Things 4: What does “We’re not in Hawkins anymore” mean?

Since the recent Stranger Things 4 renewal announcement, the phrase “We’re not in Hawkins” anymore has been spreading through social media. What exactly does this mean heading into the new season?

It’s official! Stranger Things 4 has recently been announced with a mysterious teaser trailer and the video gained traction quickly through social media.

Many fan theories about the new season formed ever since the third season’s finale and the teaser seemed to raise even more questions about what could happen to our favorite characters.

One particular phrase that is being used with the teaser and all of the recent promo is “We’re not in Hawkins anymore”. Now, obviously this has to mean that season 4 might take place somewhere that is unfamiliar to us. With Eleven and the Byers moving to an undisclosed location, we could very well see most of Stranger Things 4 take place in their new city or town.

However, part of me thinks it could be something bigger than just another American town. Some theories about the fourth season include seeing more of Russia and what’s going on there, Hopper being stuck in the Upside Down, and even seeing the Upside Down spread or “leak” up into the real world.

I also remember in season 2 when Eleven was looking at newspaper clippings at Terry and Becky Ives’ home that her “sister” Kali, or experiment eight, went missing from London. When the phrase “We’re not in Hawkins anymore” appears on the screen, it is paired with a particular clock chiming, which I immediately associated with the clock tower Big Ben in London. Could we see some of the gang head overseas?

Speaking of heading overseas, we never saw a time or date whenever we saw the scenes from Russia. In the post-credit scene after the season 3 finale, it only said “Kamchatka, Russia” with no date unlike other time throughout the show when we would see “Hawkins, Indiana” or “Chicago, Illinois” paired with a corresponding month, day, and year. Could there be a possibility of the Russian scenes taking place somewhere else in the timeline of the show?

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Of course, the phrase is a not-so-subtle reference to the phrase “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. This kind of reference first made me think that Kansas could be a candidate for a new state for the Byers. However, it could also mean that the gang will have to head somewhere unfamiliar to seek wisdom or a “higher power” while meeting new friends along the way, similar to Dorothy and the yellow brick road.

The Stranger Things writers room Twitter account has been posting cheeky and mysterious tweets that tease fans and raise even more confusion about what everything could mean. One recent tweet includes all of the Stranger Things logos turned upside down paired with some specific emojis:

https://twitter.com/strangerwriters/status/1179156682837872640

They also posted this:

https://twitter.com/strangerwriters/status/1179143818714599424

But the location in their profile bio simply reads: “not in hawkins anymore”. At least they’re having fun with all of this!

What do you think of this new phrase or theme? Do you think we could see more of Russia or somewhere else overseas? Let us know in the comments! We’ll always be sure to keep you updated on any new developments to Stranger Things 4.