- "Stranger Things" star Gaten Matarazzo said that the Netflix series needs more bloodshed.
- His comments echo those made by his costars calling for more characters on the show to die.
The "Stranger Things" kids have grown up. And now they're lobbying for… more death?
"Stranger Things" star Gaten Matarazzo has joined his colleagues in calling for more bloodshed in the supernatural Netflix drama, arguing that more killings would up the ante on the hit show, which is currently in production on its fifth and final season.
In an appearance at MegaCon Orlando, according to CBR, Matarazzo was asked if there was anything that he would change about the show.
"It might sound messed up but we should kill more people," Matarazzo said. "This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher, like at any moment any of these kids can kick it. I feel like we're all too safe."
This isn't the first time a member of the series' young cast has attempted to summon the Grim Reaper. After season four of the series, Maya Hawke, who joined in season three, called for her character Robin to be killed off since "people are probably going to die" anyways. Stars Millie Bobby Brown and her costar Noah Schnapp have made similar comments in the past, calling for a season five massacre in an interview with The Wrap tied to season four.
"The Duffer Brothers are two sensitive sallies who don't want to kill anyone off," Brown said in the interview. "We need to be 'Game of Thrones.' We need to have the mindset of 'Game of Thrones.'"
"And just kill like, a main, main character," Schnapp replied.
"I know," Brown said. "Kill me off."
To be sure, "Stranger Things" isn't entirely devoid of violence. But the show has a tendency to only ax characters who have been around for a season or two as opposed to anyone from the main cast. While those deaths pack a punch, it's pretty different from killing off anyone from the core cast (that doesn't stop them from faking it, though).
The Duffers, for their part, have said in the past that killing a major character would change the entire nature of the show. Taking out a character like Finn Wolfhard's Mike Wheeler, Matt Duffer said on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, would just be "depressing."
"We're not 'Game of Thrones,'" Matt said. "This is Hawkins. It's not Westeros."