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Posted in: Current News, Netflix, Stranger Things, TV | Tagged: stranger things, stranger things 5
Stranger Things 5: Duffers Bros Considered Killing Off Hopper, Steve
Stranger Things' Matt and Ross Duffer revealed they considered killing David Harbour's Hopper and Joe Keery's Steve during previous seasons.
Article Summary
- Stranger Things creators nearly killed off Hopper and Steve in past seasons before changing course.
- Hopper's fate was especially close in Season 3, with death seriously considered by the Duffers.
- The Duffers said character growth and story arcs stopped them from killing main characters for shock value.
- Fan favorites Eddie, Bob, and Barb were killed, but Steve survived due to Joe Keery's standout performance.
Stranger Things creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, essentially played it safe when it came to the main core cast since day one, now entering the fifth and final season, where all bets apparently couldn't be off. However, that wasn't always the case, as the Duffers considered offing at least two other major characters throughout the Netflix series' run, as fans eagerly anticipate part one's premiere on November 26th. The brothers spoke to Entertainment Weekly about how David Harbour's Jim Hopper and Joe Keery's Steve Harrington were considered as potential casualties of the Upside Down.
Stranger Things Creators on Why They Strayed Away from Killing Hopper and Steve
"Hopper at the end of season 3. I think death grazed him," Matt told EW. "There was a version where he perished at the end of 3. It's been a while since we had those discussions, but I feel like he came the closest to dying." The season three finale saw Hopper within the blast radius as the reactor at a secret subterranean lab under Hawkins' Starcourt Mall was blowing up. Presumed dead, the post-credit scene revealed. He was captured and imprisoned by the presiding Soviets and placed in a Kamchatka prison. Season four saw Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) enlist the help of Murray (Brett Gelman) to travel to the Soviet Union (now Russia) and mount a secret rescue to save Hopper from Russian experiments, pitting multiple Demogorgons against the prisoners.
"It would've been very easy to kill him," Ross said, "but Hopper still had growing to do. We hadn't finished his story. It's important to us to be able to finish the stories we want to finish and not just be offing people for shock value." As far as Steve's fate, "That was close," Matt said. "We just fell in love with Joe Keery, but had we not liked Joe Keery, Steve would've been gone." For more on the Duffers discussing how the series has handled death as delicately as possible, citing Eddie (Joseph Quinn), Bob (Sean Astin), and Barb (Shannon Purser), you can check out the full interview. Part two of Stranger Things season five releases on Christmas Day, and the finale on New Year's Eve on Netflix.
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