Tara McCauley January 18th, 2021 - 6:59 PM
In between seasons, Netflix’s Stranger Things has been tiding fans over with an array of books and graphic novels that explore the characters of Hawkins, Indiana in more depth. Their latest entry will provide the backstory of Robin Buckley, a fan favorite character from the Netflix hit’s third season. Steve Harrington’s snarky Scoops Ahoy! coworker, who became a founding member of the Scoops Troop, is portrayed by actress, model and musician Maya Hawke (Stranger Things, Little Women), daughter of Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Before Sunrise) and Uma Thurman (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Pulp Fiction).
The forthcoming novel, entitled Rebel Robin, was written by Young Adult author A.R. Capetta and will hit shelves on June 29. “The novel will introduce fans to Robin and her life prior to meeting Steve Harrington in Season 3 of the Netflix horror-adventure series,” Comic Book Resources reports.
HEY DINGUS. Rebel Robin – aka Robin Buckley’s official backstory – is coming to a bookshelf near you 6/29! @Stranger_Things @GetUnderlined pic.twitter.com/Q2afjpFKBl
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) January 13, 2021
Pieces of Robin’s backstory are sprinkled throughout her season three debut, as her experiences at Hawkins High School were often juxtaposed against those of her coworker Steve Harrington. Steve, played by Joe Keery (Stranger Things, Death to 2020), was popular in high school while Robin flew under-the-radar, playing French horn in the school’s band. Robin also knows how to speak Russian, an unexpected skill which became instrumental in forming the Scoops Troop and foiling the plans of season three’s Russian adversaries.
However, as Steve and Robin became friends outside of work, another major piece of Robin’s high school experience was finally revealed to audiences. Amidst the escalating action of season three, Robin confided in Steve that she had a crush on Tammy Thompson at Hawkins High School. Whether the referenced Tammy Thompson will play a role in Rebel Robin has not been confirmed, though the book’s official synopsis does promise “references to your favorite Stranger Things characters.”
According to Comic Book Resources, Rebel Robin will be set in Robin’s sophomore year at Hawkins High School, just as she’s discovering her queer identity. Robin’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance will kick-off in the novel when she launches “Operation Croissant”, a plan to raise funds for a trip to Europe, via Comic Book Resources. “This prequel chronicles one girl’s realization that the only person she really needs to be accepted by is herself,” the official synopsis, provided by Comic Book Resources, concludes.
Rebel Robin was written by Young Adult author A.R. Capetta, who’s known for novels such as The Lost Coast, The Brilliant Death and Echo After Echo. Capetta shared the news on Instagram, saying that “it’s been FAR too much fun to write the origin story of Robin Buckley, rebel nerd icon.”
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It’s not clear at the moment whether any tidbits of Robin’s backstory, included in Rebel Robin, will be referenced in the show’s upcoming fourth season. Stranger Things star David Harbour (Hellboy) has previously indicated that the backstory of his character, Sheriff Jim Hopper, will play a major role in the story of Stranger Things fourth season. The actor went as far as to hint that season four will feature “a lot of your favorite characters doing the thing that you love them for…but you’ll also see them twist it and turn it into other colors and other flavors” (People).
Working at Scoops Ahoy!, Robin is well accustomed with different flavors, though fans will have to wait till season four to see exactly which character’s Harbour was referring to in his statement. Though viewers were originally expecting the series sometime this year, COVID-19 has slowed the show’s production process and a timeline has yet to be announced from Netflix. However, Rebel Robin’s June 29 release may serve to hold fans over while they wait to be reunited with Robin Buckley at her new Family Video job in season four.
