Posted in: Netflix, Preview, Stranger Things, TV | Tagged: netflix, preview, stranger things, stranger things 5

Stranger Things Not One, Long Dungeons & Dragons Campaign: Duffers

Stranger Things creators Matt Duffer & Ross Duffer put to rest one popular fan theory out there about how the fifth & final season will go.

With preparation already underway for what's looking like an early January 2024 production start on the fifth & final season of Netflix's Stranger Things ("Stranger Things 5"), the live theater production of Stranger Things: The First Shadow has been scooping up rave reviews on over London's West End. And that's where series creators Ross Duffer & Matt Duffer took the time to put to rest a growing fan theory about how the series will end. Similar to how NBC's medical drama St. Elsewhere ended (with the series turning out to have been created within the mind of an autistic child while staring at a snow globe), some fans believe that the series will end up being nothing more than a five-season Dungeons & Dragons campaign. "No," shared Matt Duffer during an interview with Metro at a red-carpet event for "The First Shadow." Ross Duffer added, "That would be the equivalent of, 'That's all a dream.' No, I assure you that is not how we're going to end the show. We've known where we've been going for a while. And we feel comfortable with it; hopefully, it satisfies everyone. We'll see."

Stranger Things 5 "Like Season One on Steroids"

During an interview with The Guardian, Ross & Matt discuss the pressures that come with ending the series in a way that works creatively and satisfies the audience's expectations and how this final run with these characters will feel "like season one on steroids."

"The nine hours that precede the ending can be amazing. But if you stumble at that one-yard line, people will never forgive you for that. And they'll forget the previous nine hours of awesomeness! So it's amazing what they will forgive if you score a touchdown at the end," Matt Duffer explained when discussing their feelings on how series finales are viewed. "Endings of shows are like opening a restaurant in terms of the success-failure rate – there's an 80% failure rate, I'd say. But I think one very particular way to fail is to attempt to appease everybody."

Matt continued, "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. Then you just hope and pray that it resonates. But it was funny: once we got there, it just felt right, and we're going to go for it!"

As the duo had stated previously, the universe will live on after Stranger Things 5 – but the characters that viewers have grown to love & connect with will see their stories end with the fifth season. With that much on the line, the Duffer Brothers aren't going out quietly. "This season – it's like season one on steroids. 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: the boys and Eleven interacting more in line with how it was in season one. And, yes, there may be spin-offs, but the story of Eleven and Dustin and Lucas and Hopper, their stories are done here. That's it," Matt shared – before adding, "Outside of the play. So if you want to see more of some of them, go see the play."

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