‘Stranger Things’ Almost Lost a Main Character in Season 1, Say Creators

Stranger Things fans are always wondering which characters might die next. With the fifth and final season on the way, those worries are stronger than ever.

The show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, recently shared that some of the main characters have come very close to death in past seasons.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Matt revealed, “Hopper at the end of season 3. I think death grazed him. 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.”

Jim Hopper’s supposed death shocked viewers at the end of season 3 when an explosion destroyed the hidden Russian lab.

But a later teaser confirmed he survived, though he was captured and held in a POW camp. Ross Duffer said, “It would’ve been very easy to kill him, 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.”

Matt also mentioned that Steve Harrington, played by Joe Keery, almost died in the first season. “That was close. We just fell in love with Joe Keery, but had we not liked Joe Keery, Steve would’ve been gone.”

He explained that he, Ross, and the writers often discuss killing off main characters, but they always consider the effects on the story. “What often holds us back is you have to talk about the repercussions. This is a total hypothetical: You kill Mike. It just makes the show rather depressing and bleak, and it becomes entirely about that.”

At long last… we can begin. The trailer for the epic final season of STRANGER THINGS is here pic.twitter.com/w4WuzuCqRs

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The Duffers said they also think carefully about supporting characters. Matt added, “We try to be careful, if there is a death, that it has real repercussions. So we just wanna be careful about when and how frequently we do it.”

Fans won’t have to wait long to see who survives. Stranger Things season 5 will release its first four episodes on November 26. Three more episodes will follow on Christmas Day, and the series finale will hit select theaters and Netflix on New Year’s Eve.

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