4 ‘Stranger Things’ Characters Who Were Originally Supposed to Die
After four seasons of Stranger Things, fans have experienced some heartbreaking deaths. (We can’t even talk about Eddie Munson. We’re still not over it.) But did you know that some of your favorite Stranger Things characters were initially supposed to die? It’s true! Here’s a list of who wasn’t supposed to be around by season 4.
[WARNING: This article contains detailed spoilers for Stranger Things Seasons 1-4.]
Eleven wasn’t supposed to last past ‘Stranger Things’ Season 1
It’s hard to imagine Stranger Things without Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven. She’s the centerpiece of the entire series! However, the show’s creators, Ross and Matt Duffer, admitted that Eleven was supposed to die at the end of season 1 initially.
Speaking to Gina McIntyre in her book, “Worlds Turned Upside Down,” Ross Duffer revealed, “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.”
Steve Harrington almost became Demogorgon food
Steve, played by Joe Keery, quickly became a fan favorite in Stranger Things Season 1, but that wasn’t always the plan. In fact, the Duffers originally wrote the character as more of a Billy Hargrove type of character. However, Keery won the Duffers over.
“When he comes back and fights the Demogorgon, that was supposed to be Jonathan’s dad,” Matt Duffer revealed to Rotten Tomatoes. Duffer also revealed that Steve was supposed to die in season 1.
The Duffers didn’t originally plan for ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 to end with Max Mayfield in a coma
Easily one of the most heartbreaking scenes in Stranger Things Season 4 featured Max (Sadie Sink) essentially dying in Lucas Sinclair’s (Caleb McLaughlin) arms. She technically did when she stopped breathing for a few minutes, but Eleven revived her.
In the Stranger Things After Show, Ross Duffer explained, “It was discussed as a possibility. For a while, that is what was going to happen. But we ended up in this… We wanted to end it with a little more of a question at the end of the season. It’s still really dark, and if Max is going to be OK, we just don’t really know. We wanted to leave it up in the air moving forward into Season 5.”
Chief Jim Hopper’s prison buddy Dmitri died in at least one version of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4
Season 4 introduced fans to several new characters, including Eddie (Joseph Quinn,) Argyle (Eduardo Franco,) and Dmitri (Tom Wlaschiha). The Duffers confessed they originally planned for more characters to die in the latest season, but not all of it made it to the screen.
Matt Duffer told Steve Weintraub with Collider, “In terms of who makes it, who lives or dies. I think there was a version where Dimitri, AKA Enzo, didn’t make it.”
Although fans didn’t see Yuri (Nikola Djuricko) and Dmitri at the end of the finale in Stranger Things Season 4, the episode implied they survived. That makes us wonder whether or not the two men might play a part in the final season. Unfortunately, we all have a couple of years until we find out.
Stranger Things Season 4 is currently streaming on Netflix.
