Zooming in: Stranger than the prequel

Duffer Brothers discuss show’s influence, reveal tidbits about season two

Strange things might have happened in your neighbourhood, but not quite as strange as in The Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things. While the first season of the latest Netflix hit filled everyone with 80s nostalgia, season two promises to delve deeper into its mysteries. In a video interview with  The Hollywood Reporter, the director duo discussed the show’s influence and its upcoming season.

They have been quite clear about their inspirations from the 80s. One major influence they cited is American novelist Stephen King, especially his book, It.  One of the things Matt and Ross Duffer talked about is how it felt to receive feedback from the legendary writer himself. “Stephen King, even if he’s not a film-maker, was such a big influence on the show. His books, while we were growing up, were so inspiring. One of the first ideas was if we could do a show that felt like we were reading one of those big fat paperback Stephen King books. So to hear from him impacted us.”

Regarding treating the second season like a sequel rather than continuation, the Duffer Brothers revealed they have always viewed it as a big feature film, rather than a show. “It’s more like how the first season was about Will disappearing and we resolving this tension in the end. We just see it as there’s this new tension that we wanted to build and then have this big climactic moment, as if it was a big feature film. That’s how we’re treating it.”



Inevitably, the new sequel comes with new characters. The directors’ chose to keep most information about the reboot under wraps, while slipping out a few minor details. “I don’t think we should say much about that but I will say that there’s a new character for each generation. There’s a new teen Billy, a new middle-school girl Max, and two new adults, one of whom is involved in Joyce’s life and the other with the labs.”

However, when asked about the episode titles released earlier, the brothers did their best to dodge the question. “They are all major concepts in season two. By the time they announced it officially, we thought rather than rehashing stuff from season one, we would offer tidbits and puzzle pieces from season two.”

Since the show released, fans online started speculating on the possibilities of the strange world. Commenting on the fan theories, the directors seem fascinated and said, “It is fun to watch people try to analyse and figure it out. Some people have figured some stuff out.”

While the first season resolved a few big mysteries by its end, it definitely raised further problems, which the Duffer Brothers are set to explore in the second season.  Stranger Things season two is scheduled for release in mid-2017.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2016.

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