Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer responds to Millie Bobby Brown’s criticism of show
‘This is me defending myself against these Millie Bobby Brown accusations,’ writer said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Stranger Things writers have responded to Millie Bobby Brown’s criticism of the show.
Brown, who plays Eleven on the series, candidly called out its creators, the Duffer brothers, for failing to killing off many original characters.
Follwing the conclusion to season four, many reshared Brown’s comments due to the fact that every one of the main set of heroes made it out alive despite the fact fans were convinced one would die.
Brown told TheWrap in a video: “It’s way too big. Last night, we couldn’t even take one group picture because there was like 50 of us. I was like, ‘You need to start killing people off.’”
“The Duffer brothers are two sensitive Sallies that don’t want to kill anyone off. We need to be Game of Thrones. We need to have the mindset of Game of Thrones.”
The actor then demanded that the creators “kill me off,” adding: “They tried killing David [Harbour, Hopper] off and they brought him back. It’s ridiculous.”
Read about 10 other actors who have criticised their own TV shows here.
When Brown’s comments were mentioned during the Duffer brothers’s appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Duffer defeatedly replied: “We heard.”
He continued: “What did Millie call us? She said we were ‘sensitivie Sallies’. She’s hilarious. Believe us, we’ve explored all options in the writing room.
“Just as a complete hypothetical, if you kill Mike [Finn Wolfhard], it’s like... that’s a depressing... we aren’t Game of Thrones. This is Hawkins, it’s not Westeros. The show becomes not Stranger Things anymore, because you do have to treat it realistically, right?”
Duffer used the character of Barb (Shannon Purser) as an example, saying: “So even when Barb dies, there’s two seasons worth of grappling with that, so imagine - is that something we’re interested in exploring or not interested in exploring?”
He acknowledged, though, that more deaths are “on the table” as “we’re headed towards the end”, adding: “This is me basically defending myself against these Millie Bobby Brown accusations and explaining that there are lives behind it, and it’s nothing to do with my sensitivity. So there you go Millie.”
Meanwhile, the Duffer brothers also shared one big way they plan to make the final season very different from the fourth.
In a new interview, David Harbour reflected on his time in the series as Hopper, revealing the one thing he’ll “never do again” after the latest season.
Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix now. The final season is expected to be released in 2024. Find The Independent’s review of season four here, and everything we know about the fifth and final season here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments