'Stranger Things' Season 3 Final Trailer Confirms a Major Monster Theory

The final trailer for Stranger Things Season 3 released on Thursday night confirms something special. And it’s got everything to do with a cocksure lifeguard named Billy.

One of the biggest Stranger Things Season 3 theories is about what happens to Billy, and the trailer for the July 4 season cranks up the drama.

Earlier this week a leaked clip of Billy crashing his car fueled theories that he might become Stranger Things Season 3’s new monster after he’s bitten by a rat at a warehouse called “Brimborn Steel Works.”

Based on what we see in the Season 3 trailer, it looks like Billy also becomes possessed by the Shadow Monster, who somehow still has a presence in Hawkins. Billy is in for it.

“You let us in, and now, you are going to have to let us stay,” the Shadow Monster says using a human voice in the trailer. Once Will and Eleven discover that the Shadow Monster still exists this side of the breach in some capacity, they realize that he must be looking for a new host.

To dispel any doubts in our mind, the trailer show the Shadow Monster appearing as a swirling black cloud that approaches Billy at Brimborn Steel Works.

Previously, it seemed like Billy might become infected by something that originated from the Upside Down. But this new trailer makes it seem like he becomes possessed in the same way that the Shadow Monster took control over Will’s body in Season 2.

“It’s building something,” Eleven says of the Shadow Monster. We don’t exactly know what she’s referring to, but it’s starting to seem almost like that “something” being built is this new monster. Before now, the misshapen new monster has appeared roughly the same size as the Demogorgon, leading us to believe that Billy becomes infected and mutates into the creature.

This new trailer has several key scenes, however, that make it seem like the new monster gets much bigger and more powerful than we could’ve imagined.

In one scene, Eleven uses her telekinetic powers to grapple with huge tentacles.

In another scene, the new creature stomps towards a figure that looks like Billy, which could mean that the Shadow Monster harvests organic lifeforms to create this monstrosity, and Billy’s possession could be totally separate. But what if the creature continues growing inside, absorbing organic lifeforms like rats and humans — namely Billy — until it grows into a huge being as large as the Shadow Monster’s Upside Down shadow form?

Several shots toward the end of the trailer do show various characters looking up at something they’re afraid of. Then they hide behind cars as something stomps around on the other side. It feels like very Jurassic Park. Can we take that as confirmation that this monster grows at least to the size of a T-rex? Maybe. Either way, things are looking more apocalyptic than ever before on Stranger Things.

Stranger Things Season 3 will be released on Netflix July 4, 2019.