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Netflix tricked me on Thursday. The streaming service dropped a new video with the familiar, haunting-looking Stranger Things logo on it, and for a minute I thought: Is it? Could it be? A season 3 trailer?
I pushed play and seconds later I felt like Netflix tossed me into the Upside Down. That was no trailer, but instead a two-minute video showing the kid actors from Netflix's hit wrapping presents. Ho-ho-horribly not funny, Netflix.
The Avengers: Endgame trailer is finally here, after impatient fans tweeted about it pretty much every day since Avengers: Infinity War came out in April. But isn't it time for a Stranger Things trailer? And Star Wars: Episode 9? Maybe Game of Thrones? Here's a look at the three trailers that have moved to the top of fans' want lists now that Endgame ended that waiting game.
Star Wars: Episode 9
Movie release date: December 2019 in theaters
What we want to know: The title (personally still rooting for this), how Princess Leia's story will be handled since the death of beloved Carrie Fisher, what role Luke (Mark Hamill) will play after the events of The Last Jedi, are Rey's parents really "filthy junk traders"... heck, we're waiting for pretty much everything.
How to get caught up: You can watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi on Netflix streaming if you're a member, and you can rent or buy Star Wars: The Force Awakens on various online services, from Amazon Prime Video to iTunes. If you're old-school, you can buy them on DVD or Blu-ray.
The fates of Leia (Carrie Fisher) and her brother, Luke, are both up in the air in Episode IX.
LucasfilmNo one's eager to see new footage from a Star Wars movie, right? Naw, can't imagine anyone caring about that. PSYCHE. Even Mark Hamill snarked on fans' desire for Episode IX footage by promising an "exclusive Star Wars trailer photo" and then punking them.
When? So when will the first Star Wars: Episode IX trailer make the Kessel Run into our browsers? The Last Jedi came out in December 2017, just like Episode IX is scheduled to come out in December 2019. The first Jedi trailer came out in April 2017 at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida. It's a good bet Episode IX will follow suit. Star Wars Celebration is just over 100 days away -- it'll be held April 11-15 in Chicago. Hey, at least US tax day means something good this time.
Game of Thrones
Series release date: April 2019 on HBO
What we want to know: How will Jon and Daenerys learn that they're not just lovers, but are related? Will any of our long-lost favorites (Syrio Forel! Khal "Aquaman" Drogo!) make a return for the show's final six episodes? Will any Starks get a happy ending? How will that 55-day battle we've heard about come across onscreen? Cersei's going to have to pay for her crimes, right, whether by the hand of brother Jaime or brother Tyrion? Oh, and almost as an afterthought: Who will win the Iron Throne?
How to get caught up: The easiest way to watch previous seasons is to have HBO NOW or HBO Go. (HBO Go is the one that comes with an HBO cable subscription, but HBO NOW is the standalone service for cord-cutters and the like.) Individual episodes and seasons are also available to buy via services such as iTunes and Amazon Prime Video. Or buy past seasons on DVD or Blu-ray.
Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) has come a long way from that idealistic girl who once dreamed only of her prince.
HBOHow can Game of Thrones possibly wrap up eight seasons of drama and dragons and death in just six episodes, even if they're super-sized? A trailer would give us a clue. And no, not a plain old tease, like the 39-second goodie dropped earlier this month that was about as generous with details as Cersei is with her wine.
When? It's hard to tell exactly when HBO will provide that real look -- but here's a new clue. Entertainment Weekly's James Hibberd, who watched some of the final season being filmed, published an interview with Game of Thrones producer Carolyn Strauss this week. They mostly discussed the Deadwood movie, which she is also producing, and Hibberd flat-out asked where the trailer is. "I gotta believe something is going to come out before too long," she said. We'll just cling to that for now, thanks.
Stranger Things
Series release date: Sometime in 2019
What we want to know: How will the kid romances -- Eleven-Mike and Max-Lucas -- continue in this season, which takes place in the summer of 1985? It'd be too boring if the course of true love ran smooth. What exactly will go down at Starcourt Mall, the new mall hyped in this video from July? Can Will ever shake off what happened to him? Will "Dad Steve" stay cool? Can we ever truly understand what happened to Eleven and the the other numbered kids? And will Joyce and Hopper start sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G?
How to get caught up: You can watch all the seasons on Netflix, duh, or pick it up on DVD or Blu-ray. Some of the home video packaging is made to look like old VHS tapes you might've picked up in the actual 1980s time period of the show. Make it a Blockbuster night!
Dammit, kid, where is the trailer?
NetflixStranger Things is the master of releasing videos that look enticing, but leave you empty. Kinda like Eggos. On Dec. 9, a video delivered what are apparently the episode titles for season three, but left fans to do the detective work behind what they mean. Two of the titles, Mall Rats and The Battle of Starcourt, seem to hint there will be a big fight of some kind in the new Starcourt Mall. Class of 1985 grad here to say this rings true, we loved the mall back in the day. I'd even brave the Upside Down for an Orange Julius and a Benetton sweater.
When? But when it comes to Stranger Things, Netflix is in love with its own fake-outs. Here are the episode titles! Here's a trailer promoting the mall! Here are the kid stars wrapping gifts! Here's a made-up holiday, Stranger Things Day, upon which we will deliver nothing! So stay strong, fans, there could be more feints before we get anything real.
If season two is any guide -- and it may or may not be -- fans might want to get ready for some football. The first trailer for Stranger Things season 2 came out during the 2017 Super Bowl, preceding an October release of the show. The Super Bowl certainly provides a big enough canvas for the Stranger Things trailer. This year's big game is on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. GEORGIA. Where STRANGER THINGS IS FILMED. Coincidence? Yeah, totally, but still, you might want to mark your calendar for the big game, and try and take bathroom breaks during the gridiron action, not during the ads.
Best Netflix series: There's no shortage of original Netflix series to binge.
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