Warning: This article contains spoilers for the fourth season of Stranger Things.
Stranger Things fans had to deal with the loss of a beloved new character in the final episode of the show’s fourth season. But in the original script, another beloved newcomer was also slated to die, show creators Matt and Ross Duffer have revealed.
“I think there was a version where Dimitri (a.k.a. Enzo), didn’t make it,” Matt Duffer told Collider, referring to the Russian prison guard.
“Then he ended up making it. But that’s [the most] radical of a departure from the original idea versus what we ended up with.”
In season four, Dmitri Antonov (Tom Wlaschiha) made a deal with Jim Hopper (David Harbour) to help him escape. However, they were both betrayed by another new character, Yuri Ismaylov (Nikola Djuricko).
Dmitri and Yuri – despite his treachery – quickly became fan favourites. Horror master Stephen King, whose work inspired elements of the Netflix series, even said he would like to see a spin-off built around Yuri:
Although Dmitri and Yuri – who ultimately rescued those he had betrayed – survived, the show was less kind to another newcomer.
Earlier this week, the Duffer Brothers responded to criticism from cast member Millie Bobby Brown about their reluctance to kill off major characters.
Stranger Things 4 has now been viewed for more than one billion hours, making it only the second Netflix series to cross that mark.
Squid Game – which was recently announced to be returning for a second run, as well as a divisive spin-off – was the first.