Stranger Things creators hint at Hopper's fate with huge Star Wars theory

2 August 2019, 14:35

By Katie Louise Smith

The Han Solo theory is real and it is about to save lives.

HELLO. Do you have another moment to talk about what happened to Chief Jim Hopper at the end of Stranger Things 3? Of course you do. What else could you possibly be doing with your time?

At this point, we know full well that Hopper is not dead. Well, we've convinced ourselves of that fact, at least. He is alive and the only detail that we need some damn clarity and closure on is what exactly happened to him.

READ MORE: David Harbour's Instagram hints at a Stranger Things 4 theory that proves Jim Hopper is alive

We've heard the theories (He's the American! He's in the Upside Down!) and now we might have been blessed with another clue straight from the creators of the show, the Duffer Brothers.

The key to what will happen to Hopper could lie within this pretty solid Star Wars Han Solo theory...

In the Behind The Scenes: Stranger Things 3 podcast, Matt and Ross Duffer discussed their thought process and decision behind Hopper's big sacrifice in episode 8.

“We always talk about The Empire Strikes Back. We always wanted to give [Hopper] a darker ending; we always wanted to give him a Han Solo sacrifice moment,” Matt said. (Fun fact: A lot of Hopper's character is based on two of Harrison Ford's most iconic roles: Han Solo and Indiana Jones.)

For those of you that aren't well versed in the world of Star Wars, Han Solo is captured and ends up sacrificing himself at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. He is ultimately frozen in carbonite - but he doesn't die. At the start of Return Of The Jedi, Han Solo is saved on a rescue mission and later unfrozen by Leia.

Conveniently enough, Steve also mentions that Return of the Jedi is his favourite Star Wars movie at the end of the season in the video store with Robin and Keith.

As noted by Men's Health, just before Hopper kills Russian spy Grigori, he says "I'll see you in Hell", which is more or less a word for word quote from Han Solo himself from Empire Strikes Back. This theory by Politico's Bill Kuchman also suggests that the Russians could be a mirror of Jabba the Hutt, who "fed his prisoners to a captive monster."

Sounds a lot like what they're doing with their shiny new Demogorgon in that end credit scene, doesn't it?

Whether Hopper is stuck in the Upside Down or in the Russian cell, it's another pretty solid theory that proves he's alive.

Either way, here's hoping that Hawkins' own Leia, Joyce Byers, is the one that saves him. (Murray is Chewbacca, obviously. The rest can argue amongst themselves for the roles of Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian...)