[SPOILER] spotted on the set of Stranger Things 4

The fourth season of Stranger Things is currently in production, after what has already been an almost two-year wait since the of season 3. Ever since then, fans have been scratching their heads over the post-credits scene that alluded to an “American” in a Russian prison. Was it Sheriff Hopper? Or someone else?

The third season of Stranger Things ended with Sheriff Hopper dying while trying to destroy a gate to the Upside Down…or at least that’s what it looked like. But since then, Netflix has revealed that he’s alive if not well, laboring as a prisoner somewhere in Siberia.

Setting aside how that happens for the moment, it still doesn’t necessarily mean that Hopper is “the American.” But if not him, who? Thanks to a new set leak, we may have our answer.

Turn back to avoid Stranger Things SPOILERS

The Stranger Things 4 Updates Instagram account posted a new image from the set, and it sees the return of a character we didn’t see at all in season 3: Eleven’s “father,” Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine).

For the record, Modine has said before that he would “absolutely” be down to return to the show as this character. And now the theory mill is churning like crazy. Why is the man who tortured young Eleven until she developed her powers back on set? What is he doing here three seasons after he (supposedly) died after being attacked by the Demogorgon…although we didn’t actually see him die, did we? And the events of season 2 suggested that he was still alive somewhere, plotting who knows what.

Might Brenner be “the American” the Russians have captured? Is he just part of a flashback to Eleven’s past? Or is it something else?

If Dr. Brenner is a bigger part of Stranger Things 4, it could mean big things are coming, since he’s the guy most responsible for opening a window to the Upside Down in the first place. We could go crazy thinking of what could be going on here. With Dr. Brenner involved, Stranger Things 4 could be the show’s biggest season yet!

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h/t Comicbook.com