Stranger Things Creators Shoot Down Fan Theory About Series Finale

Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers refuse to let any Season 5 spoilers slip – but they are willing to at least debunk one of the popular fan theories about how the Final Season will end. 

For some time now, there's been a growing theory that the characters of Stranger Things and their affinity for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game isn't just a badge of geek cred – it's a twist in the show's plot hiding in plain sight. 

Stranger Things Theory: It's All Been D&D 

The theory goes that each season of events we've seen in Stranger Things are really just campaigns in a Dungeons & Dragons-style game that's being played. It was theorized that the final season would finally drop the veil of illusion by revealing the game (and the show) for what it was – a fanciful flight of imagination by an oddball group of friends. 

On the one hand, there would be a serious amount of novelty in having Stranger Things pull off that kind of surprise – not to mention the utter skill it would take to land that plane properly. If the Duffer Brothers did it, it would probably cement Stranger Things' reputation as one of the greatest shows of the last decade – but it would probably also make a lot of fans angry – something the Duffer Brothers fully understand: 

"That would be the equivalent of, 'That's all a dream,' Ross Duffer told Metro UK, before stating unequivocally that "I assure you that is not how we're going to end the show. We've known where we've been going for a while. And we feel comfortable with it; hopefully, it satisfies everyone. We'll see." 

A lot of this Stranger Things D&D theory hinges on the fact that the show uses a lot of Dungeons & Dragons monsters and terminology in its plotlines. It helped create an effective extended metaphor for the show's weird and unusual event – but maybe it was a little too effective, as it opened up a rabbit hole of theory that a lot of fans – and even some of the Stranger Things actors – have fallen into. 

"This season – it's like season one on steroids," Ross Duffer previously said to The Guardian. "It's the biggest it's ever been in terms of scale, but it has been really fun, because everyone's back together in Hawkins: the boys and Eleven interacting more in line with how it was in season one. And, yes, there may be spin-offs, but the story of Eleven and Dustin and Lucas and Hopper, their stories are done here."

Stranger Things Season 5 is in production. It will be the final season of the show.