'Stranger Things' Season 3 Filming Is Underway & Millie Bobby Brown's Intriguing Pic Proves It

Hide your Eggos, because Eleven is back. On Sunday, April 22, actor Millie Bobby Brown let the world know that Stranger Things Season 3 is in production. The youngest person ever to appear on TIME 's Most Influential People list Instagrammed a photo she took with series executive producer and director Shawn Levy, and in the caption she noted that production on the Netflix program's third season was underway. "And so it begins #strangerthingsseason3," Brown wrote. As Collider reported on Saturday, Levy confirmed that filming on Season 3 was scheduled to start on Monday, April 23.

Brown was not the only member of the show’s ensemble to post something about returning to the Stranger Things world. The cast apparently enjoyed some sort of Season 3 filming kickoff dinner together over the weekend, and yeah, it looks like they had a great time. It is really nice to see the denizens of Hawkins get a chance to hang out and have fun and not worry about things like the Upside Down or the Shadow Monster or spooky drawings or whether or not they have enough 3 Musketeers bars in their house to keep Dart away from their cat.

But first, here's Brown and Levy. Hooray, Season 3.

And now for the other pics from this weekend. Finn Wolfhard shared a blurry photo of Charlie Heaton and series newcomer Maya Hawke. David Harbour posted a photo of a bunch of Polaroids he took of his co-stars while they were at a pre-Season 3 dinner. And Stranger Things newbie Cary Elwes tweeted a picture of a picture he took with Joe Keery.

So, how long will this upcoming season of Stranger Things be? Levy confirmed to Collider that Season 3 will get eight episodes. Yes, just as TVLine reported in February, Season 3 will be shorter than Season 2.

While Season 3 will be shorter than its predecessor, it sounds like those eight episodes will not be the show's final eight episodes. As Levy assured the site, "Season 4 is definitely happening." And as for Season 5? The show's fate beyond Season 4 is to be determined. Levy told Collider that there is "very much the possibility" that a fifth season of Stranger Things will happen, but "that's currently undecided."

And now for something that is not undecided: Season 3 of Stranger Things hopes to keep fans on their toes. As Levy told Collider,

“So even though we always start off with a good sense of the major arcs of the season, we’re always ready for shifts and surprises because if the Duffers stumble into a different or surprising inspiration while they rewrite the script, we’re going to follow that inspiration and throw out some ideas in order to embrace some new ones that are more exciting. And I have no doubt that Season 3 will be no exception.”

The premiere date has yet to be announced, but Harbour told Variety in December 2017 that Season 3 probably won’t hit Netflix until 2019.

When the new batch of episodes do premiere, viewers should probably gear up for another time jump. When The Hollywood Reporter spoke with series creators Matt and Ross Duffer last year, they said Season 3 won't pick up right where Season 2 left off. Matt explained,

“Even if we wanted to hop into the action faster, we couldn't. Our kids are aging. We can only write and produce the show so fast. They're going to be almost a year older by the time we start shooting season three. It provides certain challenges. You can't start right after season two ended. It forces you to do a time jump.”

And it looks like Eleven spent the time jump letting her short curly bob grow out into a straight shoulder-length bob. You know, when she wasn't busy learning how to use her powers, fighting the Shadow Monster, hanging out with her buddies, and clearing out the waffle section of the frozen foods aisle at her local supermarket.