Stranger Things director opens up on the importance of “sticking the landing” in the final season

Stranger Things fans know the final season has to hit different, and now we finally know why. When director and executive producer Shawn Levy talked to Variety, he shared the one rule the show has lived by from the start.

He said,

“The brothers have always talked about sticking the landing; they talk about it in relation to movies. They talk about it in relation to television series…”

So what makes this ending so important? Levy basically says sticking the landing is the whole mission for getting things right.

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How the Duffers turned “stick the landing” into the heartbeat of Stranger Things

When Shawn Levy sat with Variety, you could tell he was speaking like someone who has lived Stranger Things for a whole decade. He explained how Matt and Ross Duffer have this laser focus on endings.

While chatting about Season 5, Levy said the brothers always paid attention to how some shows mess up the final stretch and how that stays with fans forever.

That is why they kept repeating to him that,

“Nothing matters more than sticking the landing, whether it’s a movie, an episode, a season or a series.”

Levy said this to Variety while talking about the planning behind the final season.

He also brought up how the Duffers have been heartbroken by shows they once loved that fumbled the end. He told Variety they “refuse to be one of those shows.” For Stranger Things, the ending wasn’t just another box to tick. It was a rule they were obsessed with.

Levy said this mindset shaped every single talk about Season 5, since the goal was to make sure fans felt the story came full circle. Even with all the insane action and huge scale, Levy said the heart of the show still comes from its characters, and the Duffers never stepped away from that.

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Answering every mystery and why Levy says Season 5 was built for the fans

In the same interview, Levy shared that the brothers want fans to walk away with almost no confusion at all. When Variety asked about the big questions that the Netflix show needed to answer, he said,

“I would contend that the brothers don’t want to leave any questions unanswered.”

He explained that maybe only “less than one hand’s worth” of things might stay unclear. Everything else gets answered because the Duffers care about the fans as much as they care about their own creative ideas.

Levy also told Variety that even though the Duffers have very different personalities from his, they all connect on one thing: they make the show for the fans. He said they’re telling stories “for other people” and not for their own ego. Season 5 was built with that in mind.

Levy added that while the season is big and cinematic, the Duffers never walked away from the intimate character moments that make Stranger Things feel like Stranger Things. It is also why the final season feels so huge. It answers the stuff fans have talked about since season one.

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Stranger Things is ending, but Shawn Levy makes it clear the team is ending it with purpose. From day one to the final day, the idea of “sticking the landing” has guided every choice.

The Duffers want fans to feel closure, not confusion. They want the story to circle back to the beginning and wrap up every mystery. If Levy’s words say anything, it is that the Duffer brothers are aiming for the perfect finish.

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