The first season of Stranger Things left some huge plot threads dangling that were picked up in a major way when the show returned last month. But show creators the Duffer Brothers had a different approach to the end of Season Two, not leaving any huge teases for the eventual followup and instead giving a satisfying ending for fans.
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That doesn’t mean there aren’t plans for Stranger Things 3 in place, according to producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen during their interview with Collider, starting with the evil “ghost” that escapes Will Byers and floats up into the sky.
“We definitely see when Will is saved… that particulate, we used to call it ‘the particulate of evil,’ it emerges not in the Upside Down but in our world,” said Levy. “And maybe that’s gotta be dealt with.”
The chaos in Hawkins also lead to the nefarious lab being closed down, which could lead to the show exploring the world outside of the small town.
“There’s only so much evil that can happen in that lab,” Levy said.
“Matt and Ross [Duffer] joke, how many times can this happen to this town, to these kids?” Cohen added.
“Well, Matt and Ross make the joke that then makes us and the rest of the world very uncomfortable, which is, eventually move out of Hawkins,” Levy said. “Things are never going to be great here.”
They spoke about the risk to open the series in a new town with new characters, followed by the seventh episode which focuses entirely on those people.
“That feeling of the world getting bigger, especially coupled with the fact that it now seems clear that Brenner [Matthew Modine] is alive, Brenner is out there… and also we’ve now confirmed Eleven is not the only one,” Levy said. “There are more numbers.”
The two also discussed the Demodog that Eleven killed upon her triumphant return to Hawkins, which Dustin put in the Byers’ fridge to preserve its body.
“I think that’s a complete hangover that we have not actually dealt with the repercussions of that,” Levy said.
“He’s dead,” Cohen said.
“Eventually someone’s going to open that fridge,” Levy said.
“Whether or not his current state will lead to Dustin’s scientific genius being received by the world, we’ll have to wait and see.” Cohen said.
These hints from Stranger Things 2 are definitely different from the first season, which defined the trajectory for the new episodes. The producers said that was intentional from the beginning.
“The guys have talked about how different things can play out, different elements that you’ve seen in the season. And I think what it really came down was… ending with this amazing sequence and then showing it’s not over, rather than leaning too much either way to determine our fate for Season Three,” Cohen said.
Levy elaborated, saying they had to pay off the slug Will coughed up, the car Hopper gets in, and the box of Eggos in the woods, all from the Season One finale.
“This time, the [Duffer] brothers very consciously wanted to promise less so that their freedom is more,” Levy said.
Stranger Things 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
