Duffer Brothers on ‘Stranger Things’ Theatrical Release

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The Duffer brothers, Matt and Ross, call the upcoming theatrical release of “Stranger Things” is “dream” come true.

As previously reported, the two-hour series finale of the series – the last episode titled “The Rightside Up” — will premiere on Netflix and in more than 350 movie theaters on Dec. 31, starting at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET, playing through Jan. 1. This marks the first time an episode of a Netflix series will also be exhibited theatrically.

“This has been a dream of ours for a while,” Ross told me Thursday night at the world premiere of the series’ fifth and final season at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Netflix announced the plans just days after Variety published an interview with Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bajaria in which she insisted the streamer had no plans to release “Stranger Things” in theaters. “A lot of people — a lot, a lot, a lot of people — have watched ‘Stranger Things’ on Netflix,” she said. “It has not suffered from lack of conversation or community or sharing or fandom. I think releasing it on Netflix is giving the fans what they want.”

Praising Bajaria for her “poker face,” Matt said, “Ross and I just folded. The truth is…this was in the works for a long time. Netflix came to us with the idea. It was their idea to have the finale on a separate day and we thought that was cool, specifically because we thought we could pitch this movie theater idea, which we had never pitched before, honestly.”

He continued, “It never really made sense to us because everyone will always ask about it. I’m like, ‘Well, it’s kind of not fun because no one’s in sync. People will have seen the episode, some people won’t have seen the episode, it’s not the same. This actually recreates and is a real movie moment because everyone’s experiencing it at the same time together. I think that’s what we’re excited about it and it’s the first time we had that opportunity.”

Star Millie Bobby Brown explained that she wore a black custom Rodarte gown to the premiere as an homage to the end of the series. “It’s for the funeral of the show,” she said. “This dress kind of embodies the darkness of the show this season. I’m really excited for everyone to see how dark it gets. I hate to say it because I say it every season, but this is definitely the darkest and the more intense season.”

See more photos from the “Stranger Things” premiere below.