Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer recently discussed the upcoming final season during a panel at Netflix’s Tudum Theatre. On Sunday (November 13th), the pair were joined by Shawn Levy, a producer on the show, and cast members Jamie Campbell Bower, Joseph Quinn, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, Eduardo Franco and Millie Bobby Brown (who appeared virtually).
Ross shared, “We turned in the first script a couple of weeks ago, and we’re onto the second. It’s full steam ahead. I remember season one, we were just amazed that Netflix was letting us do this at all, but season two was when we really, with the writers, we developed an overall plan and a backstory for all of this.”
Although many answers have been revealed in season four, “we do have quite a bit more to get in. But just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now — most who are still living — and it’s important to wrap up those arcs. A lot of these characters have been growing since season one so it’s a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also tying up loose ends and doing our final reveals.”
Matt chimed in to share that only a few people know how Stranger Things is set to end. During a pitch meeting at Netflix, the brothers made several executives cry when they revealed the show’s ending. “We did get our executives to cry, which I felt was a good sign that these executives were crying. The only other times I’ve seen them cry were like budget meetings,” he joked.
“Those were different tears,” shared Levy. “As a witness and having been in that two-hour pitch room and having read this first script — I’m paralyzed with fear that I’ll spoil anything.” He continued, “Even though the show has gotten so famous and the characters have gotten so iconic, and there’s so much about the ’80s and the supernatural and the genre, it’s about these people, it’s about these characters. Season five is already so clearly taking care of these stories of the characters because that’s always been the lifeblood of Stranger Things.”
Finally, Ross explained that season five will be “a culmination of all of the seasons. […] What we’re trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit in the tone of [season] one, but scale-wise it’s more in line with what [season] four is. Hopefully, it’s got a little bit of everything.”
