Eleven Was Supposed to Die in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 1

Barb wasn’t the only character meant to fall victim to the Upside Down in Stranger Things season one.

In a newly-released companion book titled Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down, the Netflix series’ creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, revealed that the beloved character Eleven was originally marked for death in season one.

“Eleven was going to sacrifice herself to save the day,” Ross Duffer wrote, according to NME. “That was always the end game…But once we realized that the show was potentially going to go on longer than one season, we needed to leave it more up in the air, because deep down we knew the show just wouldn’t really work without Eleven. And at that point, we knew how special Millie was. If there was going to be more Stranger Things, Eleven had to come back.”

The Duffers also admitted that that their plans for Steve Harrington didn’t initially include him growing from the stereotypical jock to Dad Steve, but actor Joe Keery’s likeability saved him from a premature death.

As for beloved character Bob Newby, the man who not only won over Joyce Byers heart, but also the hearts of hordes of fans around the world, there was no alternate reality where he was intended to survive.

“Sean Astin proved so likeable that Bob’s death got pushed from episode four to episode eight because we kept wanting to keep him alive,” Ross wrote. “It was important to us and also to Sean to give him a bit of a hero’s death. We wanted him to accomplish something meaningful.”

As for the remaining characters that have managed to survive the perils of the first two seasons, fans can expect to see them in the upcoming third season, which is currently filming. Although little is known about season three, will be set in 1985 and will reportedly draw inspiration from a number of “epic” movies from the year, according to David Harbour, who advised fans to “go look at the great films that were released in ’85.”

Season three will also deal with a challenging storyline.

“There’s a certain storyline that’s challenging that we have to keep going back to the well for,” casting director Carmen Cuba told The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s a lot of secrecy, and we can’t say what parts we’re looking for, so it’s still a weird challenge. We know that if we said, ‘We’re looking for this and it’s for Stranger Things,’ we would have tons more options, but it’s still a lot of work.”

Stranger Things season three does not yet have a premiere date.