Shawn Levy talks about filming Max’s Escape from Vecna

Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for Season 5, Volume 2 of Stranger Things, now available on Netflix.

Stranger Things viewers, another breakthrough.

In the final episode of Volume 2 of the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the entire Hawkins gang ventures into the Abyss (a world connected to our own via a wormhole known as the Upside Down) and embarks on a mission to destroy Vecna ​​once and for all.

Through Episodes 5, 6 and 7, which make up Volume 2, creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer have given us more Stranger Things lore than ever before, setting up the stakes for the upcoming series finale, which concludes December 31 at 5pm PT.

They reveal that Henry’s powers spread to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her siblings at Hawkins Laboratory through a blood transfusion to his pregnant mother, and that the military was looking for her because they wanted to use Kali’s (Linnea Bertelsen) blood to restart experiments, but preferred Elle’s blood more.

They show young Henry Creel stumbling down a mine shaft in the Nevada desert, a scene audiences who have seen the Broadway play Stranger Things will recognize as the day Henry somehow enters Dimension X, departs with his newfound powers, and fundamentally changes into the evil person we know today. He encounters a wounded man guarding a briefcase with something so valuable that he shoots Henry in the hand while trying to protect the briefcase.

There was an emotional coming out scene for Will (Noah Schnapp), a cathartic farewell scene for Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer), Max’s (Sadie Sink) epic return to the world of the living and Lucas’ (Caleb McLaughlin), and so many more.

Revealing all for Variety and previewing what will happen in the final Stranger Things series is executive producer Shawn Levy, who directed Episode 6 and co-directed Episode 7 with the Duffer brothers.

It turns out that Eleven was the most successful of Brenner’s experiments, as she tolerated the blood transfusion from Henry the best. This means that even if the team kills Vecna, the cycle is not over. The military wants to use Elle to create more children like her. Carly tells Elle that she should kill herself to end this problem. Can you talk about the series finale, which is a life-or-death stake for Eleven?

Well, first of all, it was very concisely summarized.

thank you.

If someone asks me to summarize the plot reveals of Volume 2, I hope I can remember your words. Because it was incredibly concise. So, to your point, these are deep existential questions that are being asked in the second volume. And this deep question is, “What is sacrifice?” What is a worthy sacrifice? And how can we put the needs of the masses above our own needs? These are long-standing existential questions, and I’m really excited for our fans to see our show wrestle with them.

If possible, I’d like to do it in an emotional yet interesting way. But when characters like Holly and Elle are deeply questioning the values ​​of life and death, as they wrestle with in Book 2, those scenes need to be treated with caution. It needs to be written with nuance, and it needs to be staged and directed with sensitivity to the weight of the issues being addressed.

What did you want to show in the scene in Episode 6 where Max and Holly (Nell Fisher) say goodbye in Vecna’s mind? How did you consider what Max would look like in the real world and what she could do now that she’s back?

At the end of episode 6, it was a truly memorable day. Because both actresses had major roles and were given the privilege of directing scenes with great emotional weight. The writing was great. Actors Nell and Sadie stepped up very impressively, but for Sadie and me this meant even more. Because Season 5, Episode 6 is, in a way, an echo of the “Dear Billy” episode (Season 4, Episode 4) that Sadie and I have a lifelong connection to in Season 4. Similar red blanks, similar epic runs using both real speed and slow motion, and here, not coincidentally, a new orchestration of “Running Up” is set for That Hill. ”

This sequence is certainly one I will cherish forever. Because this sequence served as a bookend to “Dear Billy” in many ways, allowing Sadie and I to revisit that sequence that we will forever carry with us from the end of “Dear Billy.” Because even if we wanted to leave it behind, audiences around the world will remind us of that sequence almost every day of our lives. The design of this abstract red space includes unusual, strange, and otherworldly structures, but glimpses of the other side reveal Max’s long-held aspirations. And when she peeks through that cloudy portal and sees herself still guarded next to Lucas, I think it’s clear that it was a very emotional premise for the scene and it resonated emotionally for Sadie and all of us who were a part of that sequence.

I’ll never forget one day on the set of Season 5, the first scene after Max comes back to life, when she’s on the table in the laundry room. And it took, say, one take for her and Caleb to perform some of the most beautiful work of any season. Many of us shed tears watching these beautiful actors do such a great job. I think Max’s superpower after coming back to life and returning to the world is that she was on the other side, as I think he says in the movie. She’s mapping the target in a way, so she can be an essential ally in strategizing how we’re going to get to that target and how we’re going to go after Vecna.

Can you talk about Nancy and Jonathan’s choice to end their relationship, which was built on a bond of deep trauma, with another shared experience of deep trauma that led them to be honest?

I love how the Duffers and the writers capitalized on the fact that Nancy and Jonathan’s relationship is rooted in a shared trauma as characters on camera. That’s why I like it when there’s an awareness not only of the show’s script, but also of the characters. And I always knew this was going to be the watershed ‘Jhansi’ scene. This scene took almost 10 years to make and was a long scene. The writing and acting are incredibly rich, and Natalia and Charlie spent months preparing for that scene. And I believe that recognizing the common trauma in their histories has enabled Jonathan and Nancy to be honest about their pasts and assess their present and future with clear eyes.

What is it like to oversee the revelation of what Vecna ​​is really up to and turns the world upside down? Is Vecna ​​just a nihilist?

Well, one thing we can say is that for us, and anyone who’s ever seen “The First Shadow” on stage, that “Stranger Things” play fills in a lot of blanks about Henry Creel’s backstory. And for me personally, knowing that I would be directing Jamie as Henry/Wan/Vecna ​​in the final season, this play gave me a deeper empathy for Vecna ​​and allowed me to understand the scars he carries, where those scars came from, and how much they were formed in his youth.

Yes, Vecna ​​now seems to be a complete nihilist, but the world has hurt him so much that now he just wants to hurt it back.

You directed Noah Schnapp for Will’s coming out scene in episode 7. Did you specifically discuss your preferences for how Will would act and how others would react, including all the subtle details?

Certainly, that’s a question worth asking the Duffers. So Matt, Ross, and I all chatted and worked with Noah before shooting that scene. And I personally ran through the scene with Noah and talked about that scene and Will’s shared evolution within it. Keep in mind that Noah is very famous and public, and he brings personal experiences to the scene. So we came in with a lot of intuition on how to approach it. And between Matt and Ross and I, and with the benefit of the excellent writing by the Duffers, it was important to coordinate the emotions and how Will would be emotional at what stage of the scene.

And for all of you listeners, for me, just a viewer, all of those reaction shots are what really hit me. Cutaways to Jonathan, Robin, Max, and Mike are truly authentic reactions to Noah’s castmates and friends as they give powerful performances in some of the best scenes ever. What you see on screen is what happened on that set, and it’s just real and honest and requires little preparation or discussion.

What was your last day on set like?

The final day was an emotional one, as it is for everyone. Two moments I personally will never forget were when I read through the final episode in a very intimate way. Literally, the only people allowed in that room were the cast and maybe six other people. I was lucky enough to be one of them that day. Because I’ve come a long way with the show for over 10 years. And it’s so beautiful to see those actors, especially the young ones, emotionally unravel as we read. I’ll never forget it.

And when I went to Wheeler’s basement on my last day, it was empty. No one was filming there, so I sat on the stairs, sat on the couch, and soaked in 10 years of memories, 10 years of this challenge, and most of all, 10 years of this privilege to be a part of this show as both executive producer and frequent director. It changed me forever, and I’m so grateful to be sitting in the quiet of that iconic basement.

A man carrying a briefcase that Henry meets in a mine shaft in the Nevada desert. Sean, what’s in that briefcase? Is there more to the Henry/Dimension

yes. It’s difficult, yes. He nodded emphatically and said emphatically, “Yes.”

Could the Abyss, the alternate world Henry is in, connected to Earth via the Upside Down/Wormhole, also be Dimension X, the place he first entered when he first gained his powers in the desert as a child?

That’s a really great question to ask the Duffers. And I can tell them that I believe they were right in saying no. It’s the Abyss. I believe that the Abyss is not Dimension X. Just ask the Duffer family. I can’t wait to read your article. Then you will finally know the answer.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

• Full spoilers for The Duffer Brothers Breakdown Volume 2
• All spoilers for The Duffer Brothers Breakdown Volume 1
• 13 burning questions for the series finale
• Noah Schnapp talks about that scene in Volume 2
• Noah Schnapp about the transformation scene in Volume 1 (spoilers)
• Sadie Sink talks about Max’s important role in Volume 1
• Nell Fisher talks about playing Holly Wheeler in Season 5
• “Stranger Things” performers on the show’s final day.
• Variety’s “Stranger Things” Oct. 15 cover story on the Duffers.
• Cara Buono talks about Karen’s kick-ass hero moment (finally)
• “Stranger Things” spin-off Duffer Brothers
• Linda Hamilton says she’s Millie Bobby Brown’s ‘biggest fan’
• Shawn Levy talks about Season 5’s ‘Sticking the Landing’
• David Harbor talks about how ‘Stranger Things’ changed him