Stranger Things Finale Nearly Included Epic Demogorgon Showdown
Stranger Things’ final episode almost featured a massive demogorgon battle and a nod to Aliens, but the idea was scrapped to keep the story focused and avoid overusing the creatures.
Fans tuning in for the last chapter of Stranger Things’ fifth season might have noticed something missing: the demogorgons and demodogs were nowhere to be seen. That wasn’t always the plan, though. The Duffer Brothers, who created the series, once considered a much longer finale that would have brought these creatures back for one last hurrah, along with a cheeky reference to the classic film Aliens.
During a chat with The Wrap, the showrunners were asked about the absence of demogorgons when the group arrives at The Abyss in the final episode. Matt Duffer explained,
Mainly it’s just that Vecna was not expecting this sneak attack on his home turf. Never in a million years could he even imagine that.
He added,
[The demogorgons] are there somewhere. We obviously discussed having a demo battle on top of the Mind Flayer battle, but it felt more right to us that why does he need the demos when the Mind Flayer is this giant thing and can attack them? He doesn’t need his little ant army to attack, he’s going to take care of this himself. It’s a giant, desolate planet. If you recall, you see Henry wandering the planet back in Season 4 and at some point in his journey, he does see a demo far in the distance, but it’s not like they’re hanging out in little huts. There’s not like a giant civilisation of demos up there.
Scrapped Scenes and Unused Ideas
At one stage, the writers had mapped out a version of the finale that would have run for three hours. This extended cut would have included a scene where the gang stumbles across a massive field of demo eggs, in a clear nod to Aliens. Matt Duffer shared,
We did at some point have that they were going to come across a giant field of demo eggs in kind of an Aliens thing, but you can’t get all your ideas in there.
His brother Ross confirmed,
Yeah that’s in the three-hour version of the finale, which was never written.
The plan was for the demogorgons to burst out of the eggs as the group passed by, but the showrunners ultimately decided against it. They were concerned about “demo fatigue” after already featuring the creatures earlier in the season. Ross Duffer explained,
One of the other things we talked about was just demo fatigue. I felt like we did everything we wanted to do with them in Sorcerer, and wanting to keep the focus on Vecna and the Mind Flayer, who’s been absent this season.
Keeping the Focus Tight
In the end, the decision to leave out the demogorgons and demodogs was about keeping the story streamlined and making sure the spotlight stayed on the main antagonists. The Mind Flayer, being a massive threat on its own, was enough to carry the final showdown without needing to bring in more monsters. The Duffers wanted to avoid overcomplicating the climax and risk losing the emotional punch of the finale.
For those keen to revisit the Upside Down, the entire Stranger Things series is now available to stream. If you’re after more recommendations, there’s no shortage of top-notch shows to check out on Netflix, with new series dropping all the time.