Stranger Things creators explain why they're hesitant to kill off main characters

28 November 2025, 15:13 | Updated: 1 December 2025, 09:37

Stranger Things' Duffer brothers explain why they're hesitant to kill off main characters. Picture: Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

If you're expecting several main characters to die in Stranger Things 5, think again...

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Over the years, Stranger Things has seen some absolutely devastating character deaths but rarely have any of the main characters actually been killed off.

Hopper's 'death' in season 3 doesn't count because he turned out to be alive, and Max (who joined in season 2) was technically killed in season 4 but Sadie Sink has returned in season 5 so she's kind of still around at the moment.

Those two are the closest the show has come to killing off one of the OG characters and there is actually a very good reason for that, according to the Duffers.

In a couple of new interviews, Matt and Ross have explained why they're so hesitant to take the plunge when it comes to the likes of Steve, Dustin, Mike and Lucas.

Read more: Who dies in Stranger Things 5 Volume 1? All the deaths in order
Read more: Here's why Stranger Things 5 recast Holly Wheeler with new actress

Max was 'killed' at the end of Stranger Things 4 but she returns in season 5. Picture: Netflix

Speaking to The Independent, Matt and Ross explained that, while it's not difficult to kill off a character, it's the repercussions for the rest of the characters that ultimately matters the most for the story.

"We just always want to think ahead and not just do it to shock people or because people have a bloodlust, which they seem to have," they said.

Discussing further in a different interview with Entertainment Weekly, Matt revealed that they "always talk about [killing off main characters]".

"This is a total hypothetical: You kill Mike," he continued, sharing an example. "It just makes the show rather depressing and bleak, and it becomes entirely about that. Even these more supporting characters like Eddie or Bob or Barb, of course, have really long-lasting repercussions on our characters."

"We try to be careful, if there is a death, that it has real repercussions," Matt continued, mentioning Billy's death and how it affected Max. "So we just wanna be careful about when and how frequently we do it."

Hopper was not killed of in Stranger Things 3 because his arc hadn't been completed. Picture: Netflix

Explaining the decision to not kill Hopper, Ross revealed that it would have been very easy to kill him off but he "still had growing to do."

"We hadn't finished his story," he continued. "It's important to us to be able to finish the stories we want to finish and not just be offing people for shock value."

Matt then touched on Steve, who was originally supposed to be killed of in season 1. "That was close," he said. "We just fell in love with Joe Keery, but had we not liked Joe Keery, Steve would've been gone."

So, do with that information what you will when theorising over who could die in season 5... Who do you think is going to die in the final season?