Excited fans are starting to learn more and more about "Stranger Things" Season 3. One of those things is that Francesca Reale has been added to the shows cast as a series regular. Reports by Variety and IMDb provided a number of the details used in this article.

Reale's recurring role will see the actor portray popular lifeguard Heather at Hawkins Community Pool. Netflix and the Duffer Brothers are keeping tight-lipped on specific details of her character and story arc, but Heather is set to become a key player in Season 3's mystery.

Fans of Netflix original series "Haters Back Off" will have already seen Reale's acting chops. In "Haters Back Off," Reale portrays younger sister, Emily, of oddball Miranda Sings (Colleen Ballinger). Reale was also in the television movie "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

"Stranger Things" won five Emmys last year (total of 18 nominations) and was awarded Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the SAG awards. The series continues to draw critical acclaim and there are big expectations already for what Season 3 will bring to the series.

Who is returning to Hawkins?

Other characters that will be returning for Season 3 are Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder), Jim Hopper (David Harbour), Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono), Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton), Billy (Dacre Montgomery), and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery).

Of course, the whole gang of kids will be returning as well and they are Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Max (Sadie Sink), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Mike (Finn Wolfhard).

In other exciting news Priah Ferguson ("Atlanta," "Mercy Street") has been promoted to a series regular. The scene stealing actor originally appeared in season 2 as Lucas's younger sister Erica. Season 3 will see Erica return with her own group of friends that are ready to head off on their own mission to save Hawkins.

Maya Hawke ("Little Women") will also be added to the cast of Season 3. She'll be playing Robin, dubbed an "alternative girl." Seeking excitement Robin will find herself uncovering a dark secret in Hawkins.

'Stranger Things' release date

Season 3 began filming in spring 2018, meaning fans will most likely have to wait until 2019 to see the latest season of "Stranger Things." Actor David Harbour told Variety that, "one of the things that’s annoying for fans is that it takes us a long time to do them. Like, you probably won’t get [Season 3] until sometime in 2019." Hopefully, Season 3 is well worth the wait.