The first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things premiered on the streaming service in the summer of 2016. Little did Netflix and the cast and crew of the series know that it would become a cultural phenomenon and develop a massive fanbase dedicated to the hit series.
Part of what made the series so endearing to viewers was the incredible cast of characters. The ensemble involves middle school children, high school teenagers and the adults of the fictional Hawkins, Indiana and these three different groups of characters find themselves in their own adventures in the town throughout both seasons only to unite together when the incredible threats of the Upside Down are inflicted upon the town.
Interestingly enough, there are two major characters in the series that were intended to be killed off in the first season. According to a book entitled, Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) were supposed to die in the first season.
Ross Duffer explained the original plans for Eleven, who is arguably the breakout character of the series and has turned Millie Bobby Brown into a star:
“Eleven was going to sacrifice herself to save the day. That was always the end game. But once we realised that the show was potentially going to go on longer than one season, we needed to leave it more up in the air, because deep down we knew the show just wouldn’t really work without Eleven. And at that point, we knew how special Millie was. If there was going to be more Stranger Things, Eleven had to come back.”
Duffer also explained the original intent for Steve Harrington in the first season was to keep him portrayed as the typical bully so that viewers wouldn’t feel too bad if he was killed off:
“This Steve character, he was just supposed to be this giant douchebag.”
However, Joe Keery’s performance and attitude on the series was received warmly from the series creators. As a result, Keery was upped to become a series regular in the second season and Steve Harrington’s arc from both seasons has been widely praised from critics and fans alike – particularly in regards to his role as a surrogate older brother figure to Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo).
Thankfully, both Eleven and Steve Harrington survived the events of the first two seasons and will make a return for the highly-anticipated third season. Hopefully, there are more interactions between the two because these characters are often separated from their respective arcs but would make for an interesting dynamic if the showrunners were to explore that in season 3.
Plot details remain under wraps, however, the new season takes place almost one year after Stranger Things 2, during the summer of 1985. The series is currently in its final block of filming for the third season and set to debut on the streaming service sometime in the summer of 2019.
Stranger Things stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, and Dacre Montgomery. New additions to the cast for season three include Cary Elwes, Jake Busey, and Francesca Reale.
Stranger Things 3 hits Netflix next Summer. Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on the third season of Stranger Things as we learn it.
Source: Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down
