Brothers Matt and Ross Duffer say the upcoming theatrical release of Stranger Things is a “dream come true”.
As previously reported, the two-hour series finale, titled “The Rightside Up,” will premiere on Netflix and over 350 movie theaters on December 31st at 5pm PT/8pm ET and will run through January 1st. This will be the first time an episode of a Netflix series will be released in theaters.
“This has been a dream of ours for a long time,” Ross told me Thursday night at the world premiere of the series’ fifth and final season at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
Netflix announced its plans days after Variety published an interview with Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, in which she claimed there were no plans for Stranger Things to be released theatrically. “A lot of people, a lot of people, watched Stranger Things on Netflix,” she said. “This work doesn’t suffer from a lack of conversation or community or sharing or fandom. I think by releasing it on Netflix we’re giving the fans what they want.”
Matt praised Bajaria’s “poker face” and said, “Ross and I just came to terms. To tell you the truth…this has been an idea for a long time. Netflix came to us with the idea. Their idea was to do the finale on another day, and we thought that was great. Especially because we thought we could pitch this movie theater idea, which we’ve never pitched before, to be honest.”
He continued, “It never made any sense to us because people always ask about it. ‘Well, it’s a little less fun because no one’s in sync. Some people may have seen the episode, some people may not, it’s not the same. This is a real movie moment because it’s actually being reenacted and everyone is experiencing it at the same time. I think that’s what we’re excited about, and it’s the first time we’ve had an opportunity like that.’
Star Millie Bobby Brown explained that she wore a black custom Rodarte dress to the premiere as an homage to the end of the series. “It’s for the show’s funeral,” she said. “This dress kind of embodies the darkness of the show this season. I’m really excited for everyone to see how dark the show gets. I hate to say it because I say it every season, but this is definitely the darkest, more intense season.”
See photos from the “Stranger Things” premiere below.
Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, and Millie Bobby Brown attend the Stranger Things Season 5 World Premiere.
Variety (via Getty Images)
Finn Wolfhard attended the world premiere of “Stranger Things” season 5.
Variety (via Getty Images)
Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbor attend the afterparty for the season 5 world premiere of Stranger Things.
Variety (via Getty Images)
Caleb McLaughlin attends the world premiere of Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5.
Getty Images for Netflix
Gaten Matarazzo (left), Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp attend the season 5 world premiere of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Getty Images for Netflix
Noah Schnapp attends the world premiere of “Stranger Things” Season 5.
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Sadie Sink at the “Stranger Things” season 5 world premiere.
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Charlie Heaton attends the season 5 world premiere of Stranger Things.
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Joe Keery and Maya Hawke attend the “Stranger Things” season 5 world premiere.
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Nell Fisher attends the world premiere of “Stranger Things” Season 5.
Earl Gibson III
