“Stranger Things” creators Ross & Matt Duffer showed they’ve still got it when it comes to introducing new characters with Joseph Quinn’s Eddie becoming the breakout character of the show’s recent fourth season.
At the same time, it has been felt some of the original cast members were sidelined this year – most notably Charlie Heaton’s Jonathan and Noah Schnapp’s Will which is why their brief emotional scene together in the season finale provided a big hit with fans.
With the upcoming fifth and final season of the series now in the works, the Duffers tell Indiewire they’re cutting back on new cast additions so as to allow time to refocus on the core cast:
Ross Duffer: “We’re doing our best to resist [adding new characters] for Season 5. We’re trying not to do that so we can focus on the OG characters, I guess.”
Matt Duffer: “Whenever we introduce a new character, we want to make sure that they’re going to be an integral part of the narrative. So that’s something with Eddie this season, where we go, ‘Well, we need a character here for this storyline to really work, and to give it the engine that is needed.’
But every time we do that, we’re nervous, because you go, ‘We’ve got a great cast of characters here, and actors, and any moment we’re spending with a new character, we’re taking time away from one of the other actors.’ So we’re just very, very careful about who we’re introducing.”
Not helping factors was this past season seeing the cast split across multiple locations and having little interaction. That changes with the fifth and final season with everyone back in Hawkins.
As the new run does not begin filming until sometime next year, the new season isn’t likely to air until sometime in 2024.