New Stranger Things Novel Will Explore Chief Hopper's Past

Stranger Things's Chief Jim Hopper may be one of the Netflix series' most beloved characters, but it wasn't always that way. Think back to season 1 and you'll remember that David Harbour's character was rather grumpy and visibly depressed with what his life had become at the beginning of the series. While we now know that the death of his young daughter was among the issues that contributed to Hopper's discontent, we still don't know much about Hopper's life before he came to Hawkins, Indiana.

Now, thanks to an upcoming Stranger Things book, fans will get Hopper's full backstory.

Titled Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town, the prequel novel will reveal "long-buried secrets" from Hopper's past after Eleven grows curious of his backstory. It will focus on Hopper's life as a New York City homicide detective in 1977, six years before the events of Stranger Things's first season.

"This was a dream project and the book was a joy to write," Adam Christopher, the novel's author, wrote on his blog. "I’m a huge fan of the show, and Hawkins police chief Jim Hopper is my favorite character. Digging into his past in NYC was a real blast, and I hope readers have as much fun reading about his bizarre 1977 adventure as I did writing it."

In case you're wondering: Like the recently released Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds, Christopher's prequel is both official and completely canon, and ties into the storylines we see in the show.

Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town (which is available for preorder now) will be released on June 4, 2019—exactly one month before Stranger Things season 3 premieres on Netflix.