The Duffer Brothers recently explained how Game of Thrones influenced the making of Stranger Things, especially when they were making the final season.
The hit Netflix series has become one of the most popular titles on television in the last several years, similar to Game of Thrones at the peak of its pop culture dominance. Fans have also noticed that the show's scope has become more epic and expansive in later seasons, and there are comparisons to Game of Thrones in terms of their world-building.
How Game of Thrones Inspired the Creators of Stranger Things
Speaking recently with Variety, The Duffer Brothers opened up about how Game of Thrones inspired them in making Stranger Things and its evolution into becoming a bigger show.
"In terms of television, we always looked to Game of Thrones and what [showrunners] Dan [Weiss] and David [Benioff] did. They used the success to scale the show up and evolve it, and it snowballed," Matt said.
"We would always take that example to Netflix for reasons why we should scale up the show: It’ll scale up the audience. At least, that was what we told them."
The showrunners also cited filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan as one of their big influences in the hit Netflix series, especially on taking creative risks in their storytelling.
"M. Night Shyamalan was a big influence. Like us, he had a movie that was a total dud, and then he did The Sixth Sense, which became this massive phenomenon. Yes, he continued to do some version of the twist thing, but I thought he took a lot of pretty exciting risks," Matt said.
"He kept making original films. I don’t know if I was consciously thinking about it after Stranger Things, but he’s been such a big part of our life that I’m sure it was in there."
While it is clear that Stranger Things has reached the Game of Thrones level in its popularity, fans are now curious to see whether it will be able to stick the landing and not have a polarizing final episode.
What to Expect in the Final Season of Stranger Things
According to the logline for the final season of Stranger Things, set in the fall of 1987, "Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding."
"As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time."
The final season will be released across three phases: Volume 1 (four episodes) on November 26, Volume 2 (three episodes) on Christmas Day, December 25, and Volume 3 (the final episode) on New Year's Eve, December 31.
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