One Stranger Things storyline detail is turning fans upside down.
Sharp-eyed viewers noticed a discrepancy: a flashback in the first part of the fifth and final season of the Netflix series doesn’t match how the same memory was shown in season one.
Looking back at season five, we see Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and his brother Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) building Castle Byers, the fort that was so important in the first season. This flashback shows them building it in the daytime sunshine, which is different from how Jonathan remembered it in season one.
In a scene from 2016, Jonathan reminisced to Will about the night their dad left. He remembered they spent the whole night building Castle Byers, exactly as Will had designed it. Jonathan playfully teased Will, recalling how Will struggled with hammering and kept missing the nails.
He went on to explain that it started raining, but they decided to keep going. They both ended up being sick for about a week afterwards, but they felt they had no choice but to finish what they were doing.
A viewer of Stranger Things pointed out that the Duffer brothers seemed unusually happy in the season five flashback, which didn’t match how Jonathan had described things before.
One fan pointed out on X (formerly Twitter) that it didn’t seem right how calm everyone was, considering their father had just moved out that day.
This isn’t the first mistake viewers have spotted in the series created by Matt and Ross Duffer. One user on X noted that the show forgot Will’s birthday last season, and fans had to point it out to them.
And even Stranger Things writers have acknowledged the gaffe.
The show’s official X account acknowledged in 2020 that, like anyone, people sometimes forget things – whether it’s a Dungeons & Dragons game or a birthday. They reassured fans that it’s just a normal occurrence.
Even dedicated fans might miss some things, and there are lots of hidden details about Stranger Things that most viewers aren’t aware of. Keep reading to discover more!
Before creating Stranger Things, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer worked on M. Night Shyamalan’s TV series Wayward Pines. Their initial idea for the show was actually called Montauk.
Matt explained to The Daily Beast in 2016 that once you’ve become attached to a title, it’s difficult to convince others to consider something different. He said that when they first proposed Stranger Things, it wasn’t immediately well-received.
The creators of the show originally planned to film on Long Island, but it ended up being too difficult to do so.
Matt told The Hollywood Reporter they chose Montauk as a filming location because of its beautiful seaside environment, and because it inspired the town of Amity in their favorite movie, Jaws. However, they quickly realized shooting on Long Island during the winter would be both difficult and costly, making the location impractical.
Atlanta ultimately became the home base for production.
Before Netflix decided to air the show, nearly 20 other networks rejected it, as reported by Vulture. Executives at those networks thought viewers wouldn’t connect with a series centered around four child actors.
4. To play Eleven, then 12-year-old Millie Bobby Brown had to say goodbye to her hair.
During a 2018 appearance at PaleyFest, the actress described shaving her head as the most liberating experience of her life. She explained that letting go of her hair felt like revealing her true self, as she could no longer hide behind it. Seeing herself in the mirror, she felt a powerful sense of purpose: to inspire others to embrace their own beauty, regardless of their appearance. She realized that beauty doesn’t depend on having hair.
She found inspiration for her role in both Charlize Theron’s performance in Mad Max: Fury Road and old yearbook pictures of her fellow actress, Winona Ryder.
She mentioned Winona Ryder’s old pixie cut was so stylish and inspired her to try the look herself.
The British actress shared a surprising source she used to nail her American accent: Miley Cyrus’s Hannah Montana. She told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that the show was “so goodt” and helped her perfect the accent, praising everything about it.
The Duffer brothers used scenes from the movie Stand By Me when auditioning young actors to find the four main child stars for their show.
The brothers had a specific vision for the character of Mike, but that changed when Finn Wolfhard came in for an audition.
I remember reading an interview with Matt from 2016 where he talked about how Mike Wheeler wasn’t originally the character we all know and love. He said Mike started out more like a wistful, daydreaming kid – kind of like Mikey from The Goonies. But then they met Finn Wolfhard, and his naturally energetic, slightly nervous vibe was perfect. They ended up tailoring the character of Mike to really fit Finn’s personality, which I think was a brilliant move!
Gaten Matarazzo, who played Dustin, also had a big impact on the show’s development. According to Matt, they initially envisioned Dustin as a typical nerd, but after meeting Gaten, they rewrote the character to better suit his personality and talents.
Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe this! Because of Eleven and her absolute LOVE for Eggo waffles on the show, Kellogg’s actually saw a HUGE jump in sales! They said it went up by 14% in late 2017, right after season two dropped. And get this – October was the month EVERYONE was talking about Eggo waffles online! It’s amazing how much the show impacted even breakfast foods – it just proves how iconic Eleven and those waffles are!
In early 2018, David Harbour became an internet sensation when he agreed to a fan’s unusual request: taking her senior portraits. It started when the fan tweeted, asking how many retweets it would take for him to do so. Harbour responded he’d do it for 25,000 retweets, with the condition he could wear the school sweatshirt and hold a trombone. True to his promise, he followed through!
He jokingly predicted on Instagram that, 24 years later, he’d be known for crashing someone else’s high school senior photos.
I honestly couldn’t believe it when David Harbour did it again later that year! He offered to marry a fan if she got 125,000 retweets, and, amazingly, she did! He actually got ordained online and then officiated her wedding… dressed as Hopper! It was the sweetest, most wonderfully weird thing, and of course, he got the first slice of cake. He’s just the best.
Fans often speculated that Eleven might be Hopper’s biological daughter, but he ultimately became her father figure. A touching detail revealed in the season two finale was Eleven wearing a blue braided bracelet – a bracelet Hopper always wore, made from a ribbon belonging to his deceased daughter – to her school dance.
Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven, shared that her first-ever kiss was with Finn Wolfhard (Mike) during season one of the show. She described it as a surreal experience, explaining that having a large crew watching made it feel overwhelming.
She shared what her co-star quietly said to her right before they had to kiss for a second time on the show.
She recalled that he told her he was about to kiss her, but in a very strange way. “He said, ‘I’m coming in,’ but it was like he was speaking through someone else – like a ventriloquist!” she explained on The Tonight Show in 2017. “It was so bizarre.”
Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, who star as Nancy and Jonathan in the show, started dating in 2016 and have generally preferred to keep their relationship out of the public eye.
Natalia shared with Refinery29 that she values keeping her personal life—especially relationships with family and friends—private. However, she also noted that collaborating with someone you see outside of work can be enjoyable, saying, ‘It’s always really fun.’
Surprisingly, Joe Keery’s character, Steve Harrington, wasn’t originally meant to survive the first season of the show.
Ross explained to The Hollywood Reporter that they quickly grew fond of Joe Keery, who played Steve, while filming the first season. This affection led them to create a storyline where Steve teams up with Jonathan and Nancy to help resolve the central conflict. Originally, Steve was intended to be a stereotypical, unpleasant athlete, but Keery brought much more depth to the character.
18. Also slated to perish was Eleven. Yes, really.
In the book Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down, Ross Duffer explained that the original plan was for Eleven to sacrifice herself to save everyone. However, when they realized the show might last beyond one season, they decided to leave her fate uncertain. They quickly realized the show wouldn’t work without Eleven, and Millie Bobby Brown was proving to be a uniquely talented performer. Ultimately, they knew if Stranger Things continued, Eleven needed to survive.
The seventh episode of the second season, called “The Lost Sister,” nearly didn’t make the final cut. The Duffer brothers told Vulture they worried the episode—which focuses on Eleven searching for another child with similar experiences—would disrupt the story’s flow.
Matt explained that as they started writing the episode, they questioned whether it was actually necessary. They even considered cutting it entirely, but the planned ending involving Eleven didn’t work without it. Ultimately, they decided the episode was essential.
20. Eleven’s sibling was written to be a boy, with the episode originally titled “The Lost Brother.”
Once the audition was open to all young actors, Linnea Berthelsen won the role. The episode then showed Eleven meeting her “sister,” Kali. According to Matt, Linnea and Millie (who plays Eleven) had a strong connection, and Millie specifically requested to work with Linnea.
Nicola Coughlan, the actress known for her role in Bridgerton, originally tried out for the part of Robin. However, she later landed the role of Penelope Featherington. Maya Hawke ended up getting the role of Robin, and Nicola has said Hawke was much more suited for it than she would have been.
She explained that actors can learn a lot by looking at roles they didn’t land. It helps them realize rejection isn’t about them personally – everyone is simply better suited for certain parts than others.
Before becoming famous for her role as Sarah on the Netflix series Outer Banks, Madelyn Cline played the character Tina, a popular and somewhat unkind student, in the second season of the show.
To land the role of Billy, the rebellious older stepbrother of Max (Sadie Sink), Australian actor Dacre Montgomery created a memorable audition tape. He told GQ he aimed to impress the Duffer brothers with a bold and playful performance.
Dacre took a big risk to land a role: he filmed himself dancing to 80s hits like “Come on Eileen” and “Hungry Like the Wolf” while wearing only a G-string. He worried it might end his career, but he hoped someone would recognize his talent and give him an opportunity. Luckily, his gamble worked!
Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe the pay raises the cast got for season three! Deadline reported it, and I nearly fainted. The younger kids – like, Eleven and the others – went from making around $30,000 per episode to over $200,000! Some sources even said it was $250,000! And Winona and David? They were already getting a solid $300,000 to $350,000 each episode. Even Natalia and Charlie got a huge bump, up to $100,000 to $150,000! It’s amazing to see them finally getting the recognition – and the money – they deserve!
Priah Ferguson was originally scheduled for just one episode in the second season as Erica, Lucas’s spirited younger sister. However, the Duffer brothers were so impressed with her performance that they kept adding her to scenes. As a result, she became a regular cast member in the next season.
Because the young actors were still growing during filming, the costume designers had a hard time making sure their clothes fit consistently throughout the series.
Costume designer Kim Wilcox described a surprising challenge while working on the production. She told TopMob News that one young actor grew so quickly – about half a shoe size every three weeks – that it was difficult to keep him fitted. To solve this, Wilcox sourced shoes from brands that offered the same style in a wide range of sizes. They would purchase multiple pairs of each size, ensuring they always had a replacement when an actor had a growth spurt.
As a lifestyle expert, I always appreciate a good nod to the classics! When the creators of the show were developing the story, they definitely drew inspiration from iconic 80s films like The Goonies, E.T., and Stand By Me. But they were smart about it – they didn’t want the references to be too obvious or feel forced. They wanted to pay tribute without simply copying, and I think they struck that balance beautifully.
When we initially presented the project to Netflix, we created a lengthy, two-and-a-half-minute trailer. It combined clips and ideas from around 20 to 30 films to give a sense of the world and story of Stranger Things. However, as Matt Duffer explained to The Daily Beast, these were mostly just inspirations from our childhoods – films deeply ingrained in our creative process. Once we started writing individual episodes, we rarely directly referenced those movies. The focus shifted to simply telling the story and letting the characters drive the plot. Otherwise, it would have become disjointed and confusing.
The team initially aimed for a vintage look by minimizing special effects, but they soon discovered it was more challenging than they anticipated.
Originally, we wanted to rely entirely on practical effects, but we quickly learned how challenging that is – we really gained a new appreciation for the teams behind films like The Thing and Alien. Practical effects take a lot of time and careful planning. We were developing the script very quickly, but we didn’t have the months needed to prepare everything. We’d often realize on set that ideas which seemed good in theory, using older techniques, just weren’t feasible given our time constraints.
The creators, the Duffer brothers, originally planned for ‘Stranger Things’ to last five seasons. According to Netflix executive Matthew Thunell, much of what they imagined back in 2015 is now coming to fruition as the series nears its conclusion. Each episode of season four reportedly cost around $30 million, as noted by Variety magazine.
Although the creators of Stranger Things, the Duffer brothers, know how the show will end, they aren’t finished exploring the world of the Upside Down.
In an interview with Variety, the creators revealed they have a spin-off idea they’re really enthusiastic about, but it’s still in the very early stages – they haven’t even shared the concept yet. Although they’ve been trying to keep it secret, Matt and Ross confessed that Finn had already correctly guessed what the series would be about, calling it “very, very different.” They emphasized that Finn is the only one outside of their team who knows the premise.
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2025-12-02 01:19