Warning: Spoilers ahead for “Stranger Things” Seasons 1 and 2
Well, Hawkins fans, it turns out that one of your favorite characters was close to being cut from Season 2 altogether.
Millie Bobby Brown’s much-memed, costume-copied, levitating, telekinetic “Eleven” wasn’t originally going to make it past the first season. In fact, there wasn’t even going to be a second season upon the Duffer Brothers’ first pitch.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say this because I like to pretend that it was all planned out, but it was originally pitched as a limited series,” Ross Duffer said during a recent Master Class Q&A session at Chapman University (via Cinemablend). “So it was like, Eleven was gonna sacrifice herself and save the world and then that was gonna be it, because there was a moment where limited series were a big deal.”
But the Duffer Brothers (other half: Matt Duffer) were instructed to expand the story while pitching to Netflix, thankfully saving our Eggo-loving friend.
“This is where the business side comes in,” Ross Duffer continued. “When we started pitching it, it was like, ‘We don’t make money off of limited series.’ And I remember when we went into Netflix and we pitched this they were like, ‘Well, we like this but how could it keep going?’ And you’re just sort of riffing in the moment and we were like ‘well Will’s back from this other dimension and he’s not doing very well.’ And they were like, ‘Great!’”
While Eleven sacrificing herself at the end of Season 1 makes a lot of sense, we can barely even imagine Season 2 without Eleven’s ghost Halloween costume, breakfasts with Hopper (David Harbour) and her “b—-in’” new wardrobe. Oh, and we definitely don’t think we could bear to miss that super-’80s dance scene with Eleven and Mike (Finn Wolfhard). So we’re going to go re-watch the show and make some Eggos in gratitude that Eleven is still with us.