Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo believes the time is right for some popular characters to meet their demise in the fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series.
“It might sound messed up but we should kill more people,” Matarazzo said in response to a fan question during a MegaCon Orlando panel discussion (per CBR). “This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher, like at any moment any of these kids can kick it. I feel like we’re all too safe.”
Though Stranger Things has seen its share of fan favorites (i.e. Barbara Holland, Billy Hargrove, and Eddie Munson) bite the dust, the core cast has been unscathed since the start of the series in 2016. Matarazzo is not the only cast member who thinks some characters need to go. His co-star Millie Bobby Brown echoed his sentiments to The Wrap in 2022 while joking about the cast getting too big by Season 4.
“Last night [at the premiere], we couldn’t even take one group picture because there were like 50 of us. I was like, ‘You need to start killing people off,'” Brown said. “The Duffer brothers are two sensitive Sallies that don’t want to kill anyone off. We need to be Game of Thrones.”
How did Stranger Things Season 4 end?
Season 4 of Stranger Things ended dramatically, with spores from the Upside Down emerging in Hawkins following an earthquake that rips the town apart. Additionally, the season finally saw Eleven have an epic showdown with Upside Down inhabitant Vecna. With the threat still looming by the end of the season, Eleven and the gang come back together for what will be their last stand come Season 5.
“This season — it’s like season one on steroids,” series co-creator Matt Duffer said in an interview with The Guardian. “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 . . .”
The first four seasons of Stranger Things are currently streaming on Netflix. Stranger Things Season 5 does not yet have a release date.
