'Stranger Things' season 4 writers tease major character death

David Harbour may not return as Chief Jim Hopper if the writers' tweet is any indication of the character's fate in "Stranger Things" Season 4.

The writers for the Netflix series certainly riled up fans when they replied to a tweet about Chief Hopper. One viewer asked, "Tell us about Hopper" and their response may or may not be true to what happens in the installment.

Fans are torn with the writers' response since "gone" can mean a lot of things. Gone as in dead? It could also mean Hopper has disappeared.

"Gone but alive," one fan commented, while another wrote, "didn't say dead."

Another pointed out that the writers made sure to use the word "gone" and not "dead" probably to avoid confusion.

"'Gone' not 'dead' very specific use of words there, fair play," the fan wrote.

Meanwhile, others pointed out a fan-favourite theory that Chief Hopper is the American captured by the Russians as teased in the Season 3 finale.

"He's not. He's in Russian prison," another fan wrote along with a smile emoji.

Chief Hopper's fate in "Stranger Things" Season 4 remains a mystery. The Season 3 finale teased that he probably died during the explosion at Star Court mall. But his corpse was not found. The Duffer Brothers have since said that if there is no body, then it is likely the person is still alive.

There have been a lot of theories that suggest Hopper is still alive. One involves the Upside Down. Fans say that he escaped the explosion when he went through the opening that the Russians created.

Moreover, fans took a scene from Season 1 as a clue that Hopper is alive in "Stranger Things" Season 4. During a scene when rescuers found Will's body, Peter Gabriel's cover of "Heroes" played in the background. It is the same song played in Season 3 when Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was reading Hopper's letter for her. The song is a clue since Will was not dead after all. This supposedly hints that Hopper is also alive.

Regardless of all the theories, Harbour and the showrunners have remained mum about Hopper's fate. Perhaps fans will get some accurate details from set photos when filming for "Stranger Things" Season 4 begins in January 2020.