Stranger Things season 3 just got released. It was the most expensive season so far and it counted with additional settings and cast members. The Hawkins’ town has a new chapter but believe it or not, there are stranger things behind the curtain. Below there are eleven stranger things about Stranger Things.
1. The beginning
Stranger Things inspiration has a little dark tone. The show is inspired by a government project called Montauk. This project alleged kidnapped children from Long Island to experiment on them during the 80’s. The creators wanted the show’s name to be “Mountauk” and they planned to shoot the series on Long Island. Sadly, they realized it would be hard to do that in the winter. So instead of an existing place, the audience got to meet the fictional city of Hawkins, Indiana.
2. Auditions
Casting the right actors is really important. For this reason, Stranger Things auditioned 906 boys and 307 girls. The Duffer brothers also made every kid read parts of “Stand by Me” scripts as part of the audition. In those many performances, a young Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) caught their attention with his acting skills and got the role. As for more challenging roles, the process was different. For example, Wynona Rider set for about 5 hours with the brothers and accepted the offer the very next day. Next on the list is Dacre Montgomery (Billy). He did a chasing scene while dancing shirtless and acting a little crazy. And he did all that with the sound of Duran Duran. And Ross Duffer said: “I’ve watched thousands of auditions now, and it’s by far the most bonkers that I’ve witnessed.”. For this reason, he got the role the very same day.
3. The Gang
It’s not hard to guess the stars of the show. Their spirits help to bring life and drama to the series. Even though Stranger Things includes names like Wynona Rider and Sean Austin the story focus on the kids. With this in mind, the child actors ended up spending a lot of time together and became real life friends. The gang said that they have a chat group called: “Stranger Texts”. They’re so close that they even went trick-or-treating together.
4. Development
Not everything goes as planned and there’s plenty of examples when it comes to Stranger Things. Steve’s character was meant to be a complete douchebag. But Joe Kerry’s performance made it hard for the audience to hate him. So in the next season the show put him with Dustin and the results were amazing. We received an unexpected bromance to love. This relationship helped both characters to grow and learn from each other. Another example is Dr. Brenner, played by Mathew Modine. There wasn’t much room for personality due to his limited screen time. But the actor and producers figured out what they wanted to do with the character as they filmed.
5. Spotlight
Sometimes performances can blow our minds. And Stranger Things is filled with those moments. A great example is when Joyce uses the Christmas lamps to communicate with Will. Another example of this is Bob. Sean Austin acting was great from start to finish. He had charisma and his personality helped to develop other characters such as Will and Joyce. Next is Noah Schnapp’s performance. During season one Will did most of his scenes alone. That changed in the second season where the boy revealed his acting skills. Noah also confirmed that he asked Wynona Rider (Joyce) for advice and she was glad to help. Last but not least there’s Erica. Priah Ferguson was a local actress and her role was a very small one. Luckily, the Duffers brothers loved her and now we know that it’s impossible to spell America without Erica.
6. Bob Newby
There is a lot we can say about this character and they are all nice. The weird fact is that Sean Astin wasn’t the ideal choice. He was considered too famous for the role. And he also starred in a pop culture movie favorite “Goonies”. Those factors left the creators wondering if his appearance would be a good fit for the show. It turned out that Austin was just what they needed. Bob provided a fresh start for the Byers family. Another interesting fact about him is that the character was supposed to be killed by Will early on in season 2. Instead, the brothers thought they could use more of the character. Strange enough Austin requested a violent end for Bob and he got one. In a Jaws like scene our dear Bob died after being attacked by Demodogs.
7. Upside Down
The underworld of Stranger Things and lair of the demon like creatures got really famous. Its real name is Nether. But everyone on set kept calling it Upside Down. They ended up using it too much and it stuck. As for its creature, Dart (Dustin’s pet) is 100% CGI. But the Demogorgans are a mix of animatronics, prosthetics, CG and performance. A fun fact is that the petal movements on their head never repeat the same pattern.
8. The 80’s
It’s no news that the series takes place in the 80’s. But the producers don’t miss a single chance to add pop culture references. That way, the smallest object becomes part of the scene and it help imerge the audience in the story. In order to achieve that, they carefully planned the costumes and colors and set decoration. The 80’s vibe also appears in the soundtrack and the video itself. Producers added a real film grain layer to have it gains a vintage effect.
9. Popularity
Stranger Things became a phenomenon short after its release. The success is due to a million different factors. But the popularity went of the chart. The series scores an average of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. That alone is quite impressive. And according to Netflix, 13% of ex-users are rejoining the platform just to watch the third season. Out of the eleven Stranger Things facts this is the most surprising.
10. Horror to Gore
The first two seasons of Stranger Things separates from the third in terms of approach. Seasons 1 and 2 focus on thriller and mystery solving. They also provide us with intense moments of anxiety and introduce us to the 80’s way of life. As for the new season, it has more gore elements and a funny mission impossible vibe. The story moves into those two different sides as the kids try to solve what’s happening.
11. Eleven
Inspired by Steven Spilberg’s E.T., the girl with psychic powers became the center of the show. Eleven’s look, personality and appearance helps build the character and Brown’s performance is impressive. The girl communicates quite impressively with body language and her relation with the other kids sets a breaking point with her previous life. The evolution of Eleven is quite visible as the girl develops her powers as she tries to protect her friends. Season 3 opened her eyes to the person she wants to become and the ending reflects that.
There you have it! Those are the eleven stranger facts about the show. But that’s not all. For more content on why Stranger Things is one of the best series out there click here to access it!
