'Stranger Things' Season 4 Hopper spoilers: Habour teases big spoiler on IG

The first trailer for Stranger Things Season 4 arrived on Monday, confirming that the Netflix show will return and offering a few tantalizing clues about the fate of Jim Hopper and all our favorite Hawkins, Indiana residents. But the biggest clue may come from David Harbour’s Instagram, which the actor quietly updated just as the trailer dropped, possibly revealing a huge spoiler that the teaser seems to support.

Did Netflix and David Harbour just confirm that Sherrif Jim Hopper is still alive? Here’s what you need to know.

Warning! Speculative spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4 below.

Okay, let’s back up for a second. Hopper seemed pretty dead at the end of Stranger Things Season 3, until a post-credits scene revealed that the Russians were holding an unnamed “American” in a Siberian prison where they also keep a Demogorgon. Soon after Season 3’s release, Harbour shared a series of numbers on Instagram which led fans to a real-life voicemail message strongly hitting that Hopper might still be alive.

So when the Stranger Things Season 4 trailer arrived, it’s no surprise that fans immediately turned to Harbour’s Instagram again, and they weren’t disappointed. In a subtle change, the actor updated his profile pic, taking an old fanart of his character with Eleven and flipping it upside down. Upside Down … get it?

After Season 3, plenty of fans speculated that Hopper could have escaped into the Upside Down just before the explosion that allegedly killed him. This image feels like proof that our theories were true, especially when you combine it with the latest official Stranger Things Season 4 promotional materials.

Before even dropping the trailer, Netflix updated the Stranger Things Facebook page with a new image of a creepy clock.

At the time, I didn’t give it much thought, but when that same clock appeared in the official Season 4 trailer as part of the Upside Down, it made me think of another important Stranger Things clock: the one at Starcourt Mall in Season 3.

If that is the same clock, it’s a pretty strong hint that Stranger Things Season 4 will specifically take us to the Upside Down version of Starcourt Mall. And if that’s what happens, it seems pretty darn likely we’ll find Hopper hanging out there waiting to be rescued.

Of course, we could be wrong (I’m still pretty sure Stranger Things Season 4 will be all about time travel), but based on the latest evidence, anyone still worried about Hopper’s fate can probably breathe a sigh of relief, at least until the show’s latest monster turns up.

Stranger Things Season 4 is coming to Netflix … eventually.