- In a recent interview, Duffer Brothers revealed that the two main characters of Stranger Things were really close to being killed off.
- They revealed that Jim Hopper was almost killed off by the end of Season 3, but since his character arc was not complete yet, they decided to keep him alive.
- The second name in of Steve Harrington, who was supposed to die in Season 1 itself, but since the Duffer Brothers liked the actor, Joe Keery's company, they decided to keep Steve alive.
At this point, fans of Stranger Things are truly expecting some major deaths in the upcoming final seasons of the show. However, such was not the case before we witnessed Eddie die a hero’s death in the previous season, and since then, the possibility of the lead characters dying has become a reality. Now, what if I told you we could have been made aware of this reality way earlier? According to an update brought to us by the Duffer Brothers, they were microinches close to killing off two beloved lead characters from Stranger Things, but chose not to go through with it.
Hopper Almost Met His Death in Stranger Things Season 3
Recently, Matt and Ross Duffer sat down with Entertainment Weekly and had a conversation about Stranger Things Season 5. The interviewer tried to get some information regarding who could meet their maker in the upcoming season (you can check out our Stranger Things Season 5 death predictor), but the Duffer Brothers remained silent on that matter. However, they revealed that some characters from previous seasons came really close to their deaths, but the plans never went through.
They revealed that Hopper came really close to his death by the end of season 3. According to the brothers, there was a plotline where Hopper would actually die at the end of the third season.
If you remember, by the end of Season 3, Hopper was presumed to be dead after the massive explosion in the hidden Russian lab under Starcourt Mall. However, it was later revealed in the teaser for Stranger Things Season 4 that he survived but was captured by the Russians and locked up in a POW camp in Kamchatka, Russia.
Ross Duffer admits that it would have been really easy to kill off the character, but his character development and arc were not complete yet. So, they decided to keep him above the ground. In their comments, Ross and Matt Duffer said-
“Hopper at the end of season 3. I think death grazed him. There was a version where he perished at the end of 3. It’s been a while since we had those discussions, but I feel like he came the closest to dying. It would’ve been very easy to kill him,but Hopper still had growing to do. We hadn’t finished his story. 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.”
Steve Harrington Was Also on the Duffer Brothers’ Hitlist in Stranger Things Season 1
This might come as a shock to some people, but Joe Keery’s character, Steve Harrington, was quite close to being killed off in Stranger Things Season 1. Matt Duffer admits that they were really close to killing off Steve, but they decided not to do so simply because they liked having Joe Keery around.
This was the only reason we still have Steve on the screen, because the actor playing him turned out to be a really chill guy. In their statement, Duffer Brothers stated-
That was close. We just fell in love with Joe Keery, but had we not liked Joe Keery, Steve would’ve been gone.
Later in the interview, the brothers also addressed the fact that they always discuss killing off characters as the show proceeds, but have to think about the repercussions that would follow. Personally, I am glad that the Duffer Brothers did not go through with the plans of killing off characters like Steve and Hopper, considering how much they have grown over time and have made it to the final season. So, what would your reaction be like if these plans went through? Let us know in the comments.
