Stranger Things Co-Creator Thinks Season 5 Won't 'Appease Everybody' - Here's Why
The ending of "Stranger Things" Season 4 simultaneously brings the show's core characters together again and the threat of the Upside Down closer than ever before. The season's final moments make it clear that a climactic battle between the series' heroes and villains is just around the corner. As a result, "Stranger Things" Season 5 is set to be the Netflix show's last. For their part, it seems like the series' co-creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, have already prepared themselves for a potentially divisive reaction to its finale, too.
In an interview with the Guardian, the duo behind "Stranger Things" acknowledged the likelihood that the series' conclusion won't be received well by certain fans. "Endings of shows are like opening a restaurant in terms of the success-failure rate — there's an 80% failure rate, I'd say," Matt Duffer told the outlet. The "Stranger Things" co-creator then explained why no one involved with the series has the intention of designing its finale in a way that pleases as many viewers as possible.
"I think one very particular way to fail is to attempt to appease everybody," Duffer noted. "We have a huge variety of fans that span a huge age range and I'm sure they have all their own ideas of how they want the show to end. But we're not consulting social media on this."
His comments may seem to some fans like immediate cause for apprehension, but the "Stranger Things" co-creator's belief in finding the right conclusion for the series as opposed to the most widely appealing is difficult to dispute. As heartbroken as some fans may be that "Stranger Things" is ending, it also seems like there's a chance they'll get to return to its sci-fi world even after it's over.
Stranger Things Season 5 will leave the door open for future spin-offs
In the same interview with the Guardian, Matt and Ross Duffer divulged some interesting details about "Stranger Things" Season 5, which was supposed to begin filming in June. The season's principal photography phase was delayed for several months by this year's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, though, and is now expected to begin in January. Fortunately, it sounds like the season may turn out to be worth the wait.
"It's like Season 1 on steroids," Matt Duffer teased. "It's the biggest it's ever been in terms of scale, but it has been really fun because everyone's back together in Hawkins." Duffer added that the show's remaining episodes will feature more interactions between Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her Hawkins-based friends. That should come as welcome news to all the fans who were disappointed by how the series' characters were separated for the majority of "Stranger Things" Season 4.
Duffer additionally confirmed that the show's finale will wrap up certain storylines and also leave the door open for future projects set in the "Stranger Things" universe, teasing, "Yes, there may be spin-offs, but the story of Eleven and Dustin and Lucas and Hopper, their stories are done here." Fans will have to wait to see how "Stranger Things" ultimately says goodbye to its most beloved characters, but if the conclusion of its fourth season is any indication, not all of them may meet happy fates.
As concerning as that possibility is to consider, Matt Duffer seems confident that the "Stranger Things" creative team has found the right ending for the show. "It was funny: once we got there, it just felt right," he revealed. Hopefully, fans will feel the same way.