Stranger Things finale: Matt Duffer opens up about pressure to meet fan expectations

Matt Duffer, co-creator of Stranger Things, has discussed the intense pressure surrounding the series finale to live up to the fans’ expectations.

In an interview at LAX with a photog from TMZ, Duffer, who created the series along with his brother Ross Duffer, admitted that he feels extra pressure as the show moves towards its conclusion, noting the importance of strong endings for such shows. He added:

“But we are really happy with it. We delivered on it, people are gonna be stoked.”

When asked by the interviewer if he took any mementoes from the set, Matt Duffer said that he took “a bunch of signs” but gave the “best stuff” to the actors. He then said he gave “the bat” to Joe Keery and gave Millie Bobby Brown her Season 1 costume.

Duffer also indicated his plans to watch the Stranger Things finale in a theatre.

Continue to read for more details.

Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer spill details on “Stranger Things” finale

Ever since Stranger Things season 1 premiered on Netflix in July 2016, the show has exploded into one of the streaming giant’s most significant cultural phenomena. Besides being rated among the best shows by fans, the series has launched the careers of its young cast and evolved into a global franchise.

It is a sci-fi horror series set in the 1980s, centered in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. The story begins when a young boy named Will Byers mysteriously disappears, leading his friends, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair, to team up with a strange girl named Eleven to search for him.

During an interview with Esquire, the Stranger Things creators spoke about the fifth and final season. Matt Duffer told the outlet:

“We had known what the final scene was for a while. It was a relief that we knew where we were headed. But in terms of the finer details, that took a long time to figure out.”

While speaking to Variety, Matt Duffer described the ending as a "complete story" that ties up every detail on the Upside Down, Vecna, and the characters. He noted they've known the core final scene for years and are pleased. However, the Duffer brothers are nervous about the audience reactions after a decade-long buildup of the show. Matt Duffer said:

“We are more confident and knowledgeable than we were back then. But there’s all these other added pressures now. It feels like there’s the Eye of Sauron on you, a lot of people watching, lots of expectations. A lot of money is being spent.”

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Stranger Things will be released in three parts on Netflix. Volume 1 was released on November 26. Volume 2 will drop on Christmas Day, and Volume 3, the finale of Stranger Things, will be released on New Year’s Eve, December 31.

It will be released simultaneously on Netflix and in select theatres across the U.S. and Canada. It will run through January 2026.

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