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[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from “Stranger Things” Season 2.]
Eleven’s sister may make Season 3 of “Stranger Things” a sibling affair. At the “Stranger Things: Inside the Upside Down” panel at Vulture Festival in Los Angeles on Saturday, the cast and crew of the Netflix series were on hand to reveal behind-the-scenes info from Season 2 and tease what might lie ahead.
In particular, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that Kali (Linnea Berthelsen) will most likely return for Season 3. “It would feel weird that we would’n’t resolve that storyline,” said Matt Duffer. “Chances are high that she comes back.”
Ross Duffer added, “We’re in very early days of Season 3… That’s not an official announcement.”
In the second season, “Chapter 7: The Lost Sister” was one of the most divisive episodes among fans and critics alike because it was a standalone adventure that took place outside of the action of Hawkins, Indiana. Even IndieWire’s TV Editor Liz Shannon Miller and TV Critic Ben Travers debated its storytelling merits. No matter what one thought of the episode though, it delved into the background of a new character that has close ties to and insight into Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).
Kali, or Eight if you go by her lab-issued tattoo number, was also a child in the Hawkins lab who has psychic powers. Kali is slightly different from Eleven in that she creates psychic mirages. Although she wanted Eleven to join her gang to exact retribution on everyone who was involved with the lab, Eleven eventually decides to return to her home in Hawkins.
The panel also revealed how much the Duffer Brothers keep changing up the show as they write and shoot it, depending on what feels right. Initially, the episode was going to be “The Lost Brother.” Eleven was originally supposed to have a lab brother.
“We were initially looking for a guy, a brother,” Matt Duffer said. They were auditioning men up to 30 years old, but didn’t come across anyone that interesting. Therefore the Duffers decided to open up the auditions even wider age-wise and for women. They wanted someone they hadn’t really seen before, someone who’d be a strong foil for Eleven.
“We had [Linnea] come to Atlanta,” said Matt Duffer. “It was a really powerful connection. As soon as Linnea left, Millie said, ‘That’s it.’”
Check out more behind-the-scenes highlights from the Vulture Festival panel:
Getting the rights to the “Ghostbusters” costumes so that the boys could dress up as the foursome was not an easy task. Executive producer Shawn Levy revealed that they were initially turned down the first time they asked by going through the conventional methods.
“What we ended up doing was we found a way to get a phone call with the three of us and Ivan Reitman,” said Levy. “He knew [‘Stranger Things’] was pretty popular… We turned a ’no’ into a ‘yes.’”
Dustin isn’t the only one who ranks the Three Musketeers candy bar high. Apparently the Duffer Brothers themselves are pro-nougat too. Finn Wolfhard admitted he liked Milky Way better because as he said, “There’s more in them.”
Levy pointed out that the Duffers have a lot of fun putting the Byers house through a lot: In the first season, the house took a beating as they fought off the Demogorgon in the house, while the show littered the walls with the paper map of the underground tunnels in Season 2. “What more can we do to that house?” said Levy.
“Burn it down,” said Matt Duffer.
“That might be a spoiler, guys,” Levy joked. “You heard it right here.”
As the parents and kids hunker down in the Byers house, surrounded by the Demodogs, everyone arms up. Hopper (David Harbour) has a gun and even tosses Nancy (Natalia Dyer) one. Steve (Joe Keery) has his bat, and even Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) has his trusty slingshot. But for some reason, Mike only had a candlestick.
Wolfhard revealed that he was told to just grab something from the room. “Who is this kid? My sister has a gun. They said to check the table,” he said. “There was a plant here, a picture of the family. I guess it’s the candlestick. It was heavy. One day, Mike needs to finally kick some ass.”
Matt Duffer promised, “We’ll get you something.”
The Duffer Brothers noted how lucky they’ve been with casting its young stars, especially because of their many talents. Matt Duffer noted that in particular, McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), and Sadie Sink (Max) all have Broadway experience.
“Which is great when they go on late-night talk shows,” he said, referring to how the cast sang Motown tunes complete with choreography on “The Late Late Show With James Corden.”
Wolfhard wanted to set the record straight though about mentioning a musical episode at another event.
“I said that earlier as a joke,” he said. “I have an idea what that would be: a crossover with ‘Hamilton’? What? No! It’ll be a standalone episode. Episode 7 will be a rock opera.”
”Stranger Things” is currently streaming on Netflix.
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