Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer and cast members Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin and Finn Wolfhard spent Halloween with fans at Italy’s Lucca Comics and Games Festival, where they reminisced about the long journey leading up to Season 5 and celebrated the grand finale.
“It’s obviously stressful thinking about how you want the show to end,” Ross Duffer told the panel’s packed audience. “Fortunately, we at least knew what the final scene was about six or seven years ago. We always knew what the last 40 minutes were going to be.”
“In a way, you have to let go and say goodbye,” Matt added. “So when we were writing that final episode, we weren’t really thinking about that. But as we read it through[to the actors]we realized how much it reflected our own experiences. And hopefully, the emotions that we felt writing it and the emotions that the actors felt playing it came across to the audience.”
Wolfhard, who was only 13 years old when he shot to global fame in Stranger Things by playing Mike Wheeler, was asked about how his character evolved over time, and more specifically in the final season, and said his character “evolved in a lot of the same ways that children and people in general evolve and grow, but under incredibly strange and disturbing circumstances.” Wolfhard added that the show is “kind of a reflection of our own lives…Obviously, for us, we weren’t fighting interdimensional monsters or anything like that. But we had an unconventional childhood that we both had.”
Regarding Mike’s role in the upcoming season, Wolfhard teased, “I think he’s a lot more enthusiastic about keeping the group together in particular and a little more proactive in his role as the leader of the group.”
“I was so excited to jump into this (season),” said Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson. “I love that Matt and Ross were kind enough to write some new challenges for me as an actor, and I think it was really fun to work on.” “I was a little nervous at times, but I always try to do my best work when I’m under pressure or a little anxious,” he added.
McLaughlin noted that Lucas Sinclair has become “a very complex character over the years,” adding, “Starting in season one, we feel like he’s a defensive, skeptical character, and we’re trying to understand where that comes from.” But in Season 5, I feel like we’ve kind of come full circle about who that guy is. He’s very caring, he’s very sensitive, and I feel like Max[Mayfield, played by Sadie Stone]brings out that in him.”
Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, called his evolution “particularly amazing.”
“I mean, all the characters are great, but I really resonate with Will. I think the beautiful thing about his story is that he doesn’t have any insecurities or worries. He’s always going through different things,” he said. “And I think what makes him real is that humans are not defined by one struggle, but are constantly juggling multiple different things.”
Schnapp added, “I think what The Duffers has done so well is that in each season they explore his personal struggles, his trauma from being taken to the Upside Down, and his abusive father, his identity with himself, and his self-exclusion from his friends. And juggling so many different things that he’s dealing with. That’s what makes him a really real human being. I don’t think it would be possible to do that realistically and authentically in one season.”
“What our show embraces so well is that it’s told over a very long period of time, so that slow burn and slow understanding of who you are is exactly what makes this show so real,” he continued. “We’re grateful that the Duffers have taken the time to work with us. We’re especially happy knowing that in the final season, everything will be up close. Will finally learns to find his voice and learns that it’s okay to be who he is. That’s one of the core themes of our show.”
Netflix’s Fandom event in Lucca, Europe’s largest comics convention, is part of the hit show’s global farewell tour across 25 cities across six continents, featuring immersive events, screenings and experiences inspired by Hawkins, The Upside Down and each era of the series.
The Lucca stop featured a preview preview that was not shown to the press, a fan Q&A, and the immersive Stranger Things pavilion that Netflix has installed in the medieval town’s Piazza San Michele. This will be followed by an exclusive fan screening of Stranger Things Season 5 Episode 1 on November 13th at the Odeon Lux Theater in Leicester Square, London.
The presence of “Stranger Things” in Lucca draws attention to the event. “Netflix is creating a big story around Lucca. By acquiring (launching) their top content, we will be on par with major capitals of the world that we can never compete with in terms of population,” Emanuele Vietina, director of Lucca Comics, told Variety. Milan-based entertainment marketing company QMI-Cova is leading Lucca’s film and TV programming. The festival runs from October 29th to November. 2.
The final season of Stranger Things will consist of eight episodes, with Netflix releasing the first four (Volume 1) on November 26th, the second three (Volume 2) on December 25th, and the two-hour finale on New Year’s Eve. In an unprecedented move, the streamer will release the finale in more than 350 theaters on the same night and will run it until January 1, 2026.
