Entertainment Weekly’s mammoth fall preview continues unabated.
After spotlighting The Walking Dead season 8 and its leading trio, EW has now turned its attention to a little-known Netflix phenomenon called Stranger Things. Widely considered to be one of the breakout successes of 2016, the hit sci-fi original, one steeped in a potent blend of nostalgia (see: Stand By Me, The Goonies, It), is poised to return this Halloween, and we now have three rather intriguing script pages to prove it.
If you’ve caught season 2’s SDCC trailer, you’ll recognize the scene in question as the one in which Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) are bashing buttons in the local arcade, aptly called The Palace. However, things soon take a turn for the weird when Will slips into a haunting hallucination, and the Duffer Brothers believe this fever-dream is telling:
‘Focus our attention on Will’ is really a sign of things to come this season, as our main storyline centers on Will and his recovery. Just because Will was rescued from the Upside Down doesn’t mean he’s safe…
On a more general note, the show’s co-creators and directors then touched on the dynamic between those four leads, and how each character approaches a situation from a slightly different perspective. And therein lies the source of bickering.
We always try to make sure that — when faced with a dilemma — our boys have different perspectives and solutions. This makes for fun conflict and helps further define their characters. The problem they’re facing in this scene is not exactly life or death: Are they willing to hook Keith up with Nancy in exchange for Mad Max’s identity? We like that Mike stands up for Nancy here; he may be a jerk to her in person, but deep down, he’s very protective of his sister. We feel this is very typical sibling behavior. Not that we would know anything about that….
Clear your Halloween plans, for Stranger Things season 2 has been booked in for a premiere on October 27th. Unlike its debut, the show’s second season will stretch for nine episodes in total, which aligns with previous comments about more scares and a bigger scope.
