Following Stranger Things’ triumphant return to Netflix this summer with its fourth season, the streaming giant has now released the bloopers. The previously unseen outtake footage debuted as part of Netflix’s ‘TUDUM’ event, a global live stream featuring several trailers and announcements from the company’s upcoming roster.
Along with the expected mistakes, the biggest highlights come in the form of a disturbing, giggling Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), a screaming Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and an outtake from Jim Hopper’s (David Harbour) romance scene with Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder).
After its momentous fourth instalment, the sci-fi hit is set to return to screens for its fifth and final season in the not-too-distant future, with production beginning next year.
In a recent interview, Matt and Ross Duffer, the show’s creators, revealed intentions to “focus on the OG characters”. This move likely means no new characters will be introduced to the plot in the fifth round as the brothers bring the plot to a conclusion.
“Whenever we introduce a new character, we want to make sure that they’re going to be an integral part of the narrative. But every time we do that, we’re nervous because you go, ‘We’ve got a great cast of characters here and actors, and any moments we’re spending with a new character, we’re taking time away from one of the other actors.’ So we’re just very, very careful about who we’re introducing,” Ross told IndieWire.
Earlier in the summer, actors Millie Bobby Brown and Noah Schnapp agreed that the Duffer brothers were too sentimental and seemed afraid of killing off more of the core cast.
Agreeing with Schnapp’s earlier assertion, Brown said: “It’s way too big. Last night, we couldn’t even take one group picture because there was like 50 of us. I was like, ‘You need to start killing people off’.”
She added: “The Duffer brothers are two sensitive Sallies that don’t want to kill anyone off. We need to be Game of Thrones. We need to have the mindset of Game of Thrones.”
After appealing to the Duffers to “kill me off”, Brown continued: “They tried killing David [Harbour, Chief Hopper] off, and they brought him back. It’s ridiculous.”
In an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast a few days later, the Duffer Brothers were asked to respond to the criticism. “We heard,” Matt Duffer said. “What did Millie call us? She said we were ‘sensitive Sallies’. She’s hilarious. Believe us, we’ve explored all options in the writing room.”
He continued: “Just as a complete hypothetical, if you kill Mike [Finn Wolfhard], it’s like… that’s depressing… we aren’t Game of Thrones. This is Hawkins, it’s not Westeros. The show becomes not Stranger Things anymore because you do have to treat it realistically, right?
“So even when Barb [Shannon Purser] dies, there’s two seasons worth of grappling with that, so imagine – is that something we’re interested in exploring or not interested in exploring?”
But Duffer did promise that further deaths were “on the table” as Stranger Things heads “towards the end”.
“This is me basically defending myself against these Millie Bobby Brown accusations and explaining that there are lives behind it, and it’s nothing to do with my sensitivity. So there you go, Millie,” he explained.
Before airing the final two episodes of the fourth season, the Duffer Brothers had teased a substantial “body count”. As it transpired, we only endured three major character deaths over the last two episodes of the season – Dr Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine), Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) and Jason Carver (Mason Dye).
Watch the Stranger Things season four bloopers below.
