‘Stranger Things’ final season made “Netflix executives cry” during pitch meeting
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer have teased the show’s fifth and final season.
The duo discussed their progress on the final season during a panel at Netflix’s Tudum Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday (November 13), where they joined by producer Shawn Levy and cast members Caleb McLaughlin, Joseph Quinn, Jamie Campbell Bower, Priah Ferguson, Eduardo Franco and a virtual Millie Bobby Brown.
“We turned in the first script a couple of weeks ago, and we’re onto the second. It’s full steam ahead,” Ross told moderator Patton Oswalt (via The Hollywood Reporter). “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 and make sure that, with the Upside Down, everything about what it was.”
Ross said some answers from that plan were revealed in season four, but there’ll be “quite a bit” to unravel in the final outing. “But just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now, most of whom are still living,” he added. “It’s important to wrap up those arcs because 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 these loose ends and doing our final reveals.”
The brothers also said a few people know how the series will end, after they pitched the final season to Netflix in a two-hour meeting. “We did get our executives to cry, which I felt was a good sign that these executives were crying,” Matt said. “The only other times I’ve seen them cry were like budget meetings.”
In response, Levy joked: “Those were different tears. As a witness and having been in that two-hour pitch room and having read this first script – I’m paralysed with fear that I’ll spoil anything but I will say the thing about these Duffer Brothers is that 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.”
Netflix revealed the title of the first episode of the season five last week, Chapter One: The Crawl, which has led to hopeful speculation around the fate of Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn).
Filming for Stranger Things season five is expected to begin in 2023. A release date has yet to be announced.
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Adam Starkey
NME
