Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo admitted he has a "messed up" belief that The Duffer Brothers should kill off more characters.
With the fifth and final season currently in production, fans are keen to see how things will end for the beloved Hawkins residents, especially with a threat as large as Vecna looming over their heads.
Season 4 was filled with plenty of tense moments, such as fans worrying if Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield was dead. But according to Dustin's actor Gaten Matarazzo, he believes the show should raise the stakes and kill off more major characters.
It's a bold statement for sure, following in the footsteps of shows with a high kill count like Game of Thrones, but Gaten has admitted he thinks they're all "too safe".
Speaking to CBR, Gaten admitted: "It might sound messed up but we should kill more people. This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher, like at any moment any of these kids can kick it. I feel like we’re all too safe."
Gaten's co-star Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, seems to echo this sentiment too. In a 2022 video interview with The Wrap, she admitted she'd like the series to have a few more deaths, referencing the hit HBO fantasy series.
Millie said: "It’s way too big. Last night, we couldn’t even take one group picture because there were like 50 of us. I was like, ‘You need to start killing people off’.
“The Duffer Brothers are two sensitive Sallies that don’t want to kill anyone off. We need to be Game of Thrones. We need to have the mindset of Game of Thrones.”
However, The Duffer Brothers responded to this and said: "Just as a complete hypothetical, if you kill Mike [Finn Wolfhard], it’s like… that’s a depressing… we aren’t Game of Thrones. This is Hawkins, it’s not Westeros. The show becomes not Stranger Things anymore because you do have to treat it realistically, right?"
Right now though, we don't know what tricks the team has up their sleeves, and since Stranger Things season 5 is the final chapter anything could happen.
Even after the fifth season, the show's legacy continues, with a stage show currently playing in London called Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which explores Henry Creel's story before he became Vecna.
Stranger Things seasons 1 - 4 are streaming on Netflix, with 5 coming soon.
