The conclusion of Stranger Things after a decade has left many fans eager for more exploration of its captivating sci-fi universe, a world they weren’t quite ready to leave behind.
Following the release of the final episode earlier this month, a theory known as Conformity Gate emerged on social media, suggesting a secret additional episode was still to come.
While this fan-speculated second finale has not materialized, a behind-the-scenes documentary, chronicling the creation of season five of the acclaimed TV series, aims to address some of those lingering desires and unanswered questions.
Martina Radwan, the documentarian behind *One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5*, shared with BBC Newsbeat that she found the Conformity Gate theory to be “a little bizarre.”
“Why would they withhold that?,” she questioned.
However, she acknowledged that it can be “hard to say goodbye” for fans who have been invested in the series for the past ten years.
She hopes that the two-hour documentary will provide a sense of closure, while also offering a unique glimpse into the writer’s room and the production process.
The Duffer Brothers, the masterminds behind the 1980s-inspired, monster-infused inter-dimensional series, faced immense pressure as they worked to conclude the beloved show.
This pressure becomes palpable in the documentary, revealing that the brothers and their writing team were still actively working on the script for the final episode even as filming commenced.
This revelation came as a surprise to some fans.
However, Martina explains that on a project of this scale, “you can’t write everything ahead of time,” noting that writing during shooting is a common practice in both TV and film production.
“I think having access to the writer’s room is a real gift and a privilege that the brothers gave us because I think it’s very easy to think when you write a script, you literally just sit there and write,” she says.
“And it’s like: ‘No, it’s really thinking about a gazillion things, how you interweave all these stories’.
“I mean, this is a massive ensemble cast and to cover 19 character developments, it’s quite a feat and an accomplishment.”
The documentary offers viewers a glimpse into the writers’ debates, including discussions on whether creatures should appear in the final battle against Vecna and the Mind Flayer, and the ultimate fate of the central character, Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown.
It also chronicles the growth of the main cast, both as characters and as actors, featuring clips of their initial auditions and scenes from the first series, which debuted in 2016.
“It was important to really show the longevity and also how everybody developed individually, but also with each other as a group,” says Martina.
A defining aspect of the documentary is its demonstration of the sheer scale of the series’ production.
Hundreds of creatives, cast, and crew members worked tirelessly to construct realistic portrayals of Hawkins, the Upside Down, and the Abyss, often facing tight deadlines and incomplete scripts.
“That pressure on a show that is so beloved and so big is immense,” says Martina.
“I don’t know how the Duffers are doing it, to be honest.
“I love that everybody’s like: ‘We don’t know how to do this, this is impossible’, and then they turn around and they do it.”
In his wrap speech featured at the end of the documentary, co-creator Ross Duffer reveals season five took 237 days to film and says 6,725 set-ups were used to create 630 hours of footage, which was later edited down to about 10 hours.
Martina says she approached the documentary wanting to illustrate how a project of this scale is made because it “does all these things that nobody thought a TV show can do”.
This aligns with the Duffer Brothers’ own inspiration, drawn from behind-the-scenes documentaries of classic films such as *The Lord of the Rings* during their formative years.
Snippets of homemade films from their childhood highlight their lifelong passion for filmmaking, along with an interview with their former drama teacher, who even makes a cameo appearance in season five.
“They didn’t become successful overnight, this is 40 years in the making process,” Martina says.
“They started making feature-length movies at the age of eight. So, to me, the core of it is that they really represent everything that I love about film-making.
“And also, they’re true to their art, they’re true to their vision, which I really admire as a director myself.”
– One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 is available on Netflix.
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