"This Isn't 'Game of Thrones', There Won't Be a Red Wedding": 'Stranger Things' Creators Talked About Their Approach to the Finale
Artis Kenderik
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer gave a major interview after the release of the first volume of the fifth season. The brothers talked about their approach to the series finale and answered fans' main question: will they be killing off characters en masse?
When asked if the second volume would be bloodier than the first, Matt Duffer dispelled expectations:
I've said this before: this isn't Game of Thrones. We hope to surprise people. But there won't be a Red Wedding, if that's what you're asking. That would be depressing.
The brothers also shared details about the filming process. The opening scene with young Will in the Upside Down was the first visual work of the season — it was created by Weta studio. The task was challenging: viewers had already seen Noah Schnapp at this age in the first season, so maximum realism was required, as this scene involves heavy de-aging of the actor through graphics.
Usually we don't worry too much about how we'll shoot certain scenes. It seemed absolutely right to start with Will's flashback, and then it was Weta's work. They did incredibly detailed work, perfecting every frame.
Another technical challenge was the final battle of the fourth episode with a long sequence shot. According to Matt, this was the logistically most difficult shoot in the entire history of the series.
Initially the scene wasn't written as a single shot. We wanted the viewer to feel at the center of events. We shot at night with kids, stunt performers, and visual effects — we could only work about two hours per night. We broke the scene into four parts and shot one per night.
The brothers admitted they call it "one shot," although technically it's stitched together from several frames — otherwise it would have been impossible to work with children and stunt performers in such conditions.
The second volume will be released exactly one month from now, on Christmas and we'll see the finale on December 31.
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