Stranger Things’ creators initially saw Star Wars’ Ewan McGregor, The Watcher’s Naomi Watts, and Avengers: Endgame’s Marisa Tomei in lead roles. 

With Season 5 of Stranger Things as the final installment, SPYSCAPE nerds thought it would be fun to take a deep dive into the Cold War show’s ‘bible’ - the actual pitch deck the Duffer brothers used to sell Stranger Things to Hollywood.

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Stranger Things: An ode to Steven Spielberg and Stephen King‍

Shooting for Netflix’s Stranger Things Season One began in November 2015 after more than a dozen studio rejections, with the '80s vibe reinforced with RadioShack’s finest electronics, walkie-talkies, and Dungeons & Dragons. So what did Matt and Ross Duffer have in mind? “A love letter to the golden age of Steven Spielberg and Stephen King - a marriage of human drama and supernatural fear.”

The series ‘lookbook’ sketches out the character of Eleven and the rest of the cast and describes how the creators envisioned an eight-hour series starting at Camp Hero with a sequel taking place 10 years later with a new cast. Hmmm. Does this mean we’ll see El, Will, Joyce, and Chief Hopper returning in a new ‘rip’?  

You have to know the past to understand the present, so let’s check out Stranger Things 23-page ‘bible’ and see how the Duffer brothers envisioned the show originally known as Montauk: An epic tale of sci-fi horror.
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Stranger Things: Plans for the original and a sequel set in 1990‍

Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory so Matt and Ross Duffer planned to fuel the eight-episode series with the Montauk Project, based on the real-life Camp Hero in the Long Island town of Montauk. Camp Hero was used by the US military as a base for Soviet surveillance in WWII as well as (supposedly) alien contact, time travel, telepathy, exploring alternate dimensions, and even mutant monsters. 

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The Duffer brothers also envisioned a theoretical Montauk/Stranger Things sequel set in the summer of 1990, with the teens grown up and spread across the US. The friends reunite in Hawkins after the re-emergence of horror in Montauk: “This will allow us to explore many of the same characters, themes, and horrors from the original series, but with a new ensemble of actors and a fresh time period,” their pitch explains.

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Stranger Things: The 11 character outlines

The Stranger Things pitch deck breaks down 11 main characters including the mysterious Eleven.

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Eleven, ‘The Outsider’ 

Eleven was conceived as an orphan taken by a clandestine faction of the US military at the age of two to develop her telekinesis powers. She lives in a small cell beneath Camp Hero with other children (One to Ten) subjected to painful experiments. “When she escapes the laboratory at the start of our series,” the pitch deck explains, “she finds herself experiencing real life for the first time. This proves both terrifying... and thrilling. If Mike is the Elliot of our show, Eleven is our E.T.”

Mike Wheeler - The ‘cute kid’

Mike, 12, was envisioned as a cute kid with a birthmark on his left cheek that leads to bullying and near-crippling insecurity. He escapes by reading fantasy novels and spending time with his three best friends (Lucas, Dustin, and Will). The Dungeon Master of his Dungeons and Dragons group, Mike writes sprawling adventures with fantastical monsters. “When he finds himself on a real adventure, facing real monsters, he will discover a courage he didn't know he had.”

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Lucas - The ‘loudmouth’

Mike’s best friend Lucas, 12, is described as “scrawny, short, loudmouthed” with parents in the midst of a costly divorce. “Initially a source of comic relief, his character will darken and deepen over the course of the series,” the pitch deck notes. Because of his parents’ vitriolic arguments, Lucus becomes angry and destructive. “His attitude will land his friends in danger more than once and put his friendship with Mike to the test.” 

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Will Byers - The sweet kid who doesn’t see himself as ‘normal’

The Duffer brothers sketched Will Byers, 12, as a “sweet, sensitive kid with sexual identity issues. He only recently came to the realization that he does not fit into the 1980s definition of ‘normal’." Will’s choices, such as his colorful clothes, prove a constant source of bullying. Like Mike, Will escapes through fantasy gaming. He has a close relationship with his mother, Joyce, and brother Jonathan who helps raise Will after their father abandoned the family four years earlier. 

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Dustin Henderson - King Geek ‍

Dustin wears oversized glasses and is the King Geek. “His supportive parents are nerds themselves and are supportive of his choices and hobbies. However, Dustin finds less acceptance at school, where is often bullied for his weight and interests.” Dustin and Lucas bicker constantly, initially in a good-natured way, but the arguing escalates as the stakes rise. 

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Jonathan Byers - The mysterious, artistic type‍

Jonathan, 16, is mysterious and quiet with a talent for photography. His family responsibilities interfere with his social life. He works at the local movie theater to help his mother pay the bills and takes care of his kid brother, Will. While he loves his family, Jonathan feels burdened by them. He has no friends and no girlfriend. “Over the course of the series, he will begin a relationship with Nancy Wheeler. This will force him to open up and, for the first time, let someone in.” 

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Nancy Wheeler - The brainy one

Nancy, 16, was envisioned as an awkward, book-smart teen in the early stages of becoming a beautiful woman. “With her newfound looks comes unexpected pain; her first fling with Steve, a popular teen, leads to heartbreak and humiliation. This experience will drive her unexpectedly into the arms of another: Jonathan. With his help, she will experience love for the first time... and find herself.” 

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Chief Jim ‘Hop’ Hopper - The hedonistic Montauk police chief

Stranger Things’ creators originally envisioned Star Wars’ Ewan McGregor as Chief Jim Hopper, a role that went to the brilliant David Harbour. In his early 40s, Hopper grew up in Montauk and had a happy life in the city before a car accident killed his four-year-old daughter. Jim moved back to his hometown and lives a hedonistic lifestyle in a beach shack. He drinks heavily, chain smokes, and abuses the barbiturate Tuinal. “Hopper took the job of Chief not to help others but because it required very little of him. After all, nothing bad ever happens in Montauk.” That all changes when Will goes missing and Hopper confronts his past.

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Joyce Byers - The chain-smoking single mother of Will and Jonathan

The Duffer brothers initially saw Naomi Watts or Marisa Tomei playing Joyce, but Stranger Things fans know there is only one perfectly flawed Joyce (Winona Ryder), a woman in her 40s struggling to hold down two low-paying jobs and raise her boys. “She chain smokes, speaks with a thick Long Island accent, and has blunt manners. Despite all this, she is a loving mother who would go to incredible lengths to protect her boys.” As the series progresses, the Duffer brothers foresaw Joyce's desperation leading her into an unexpected and rocky relationship with Hopper.

Mr. Clarke - The ‘Indiana Jones’ character‍

Mr. Clarke (Randy Havens), 35, is the ‘rock star’ of the local middle school. “Charismatic, charming, handsome, and whip-smart, he is the closest thing our series has to Indiana Jones,” the pitch deck notes. “Mr. Clarke will become increasingly essential as the show moves forward, as he will be key to solving the mystery of what has happened in Montauk. He will ultimately help our characters breach the ‘Tear’ in Act Three.” 

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Terry Ives, the local movie theater projectionist‍

Errrrmmm, Terry who? The character is described as “an anti-social hermit and local movie theater projectionist with the looks of a serial killer (balding hair, big oval glasses). Terry is a conspiracy ‘nut’ who has been investigating Camp Hero. The Duffer brothers did introduce Murray Bauman in Season 2, who believes Hawkins was in the midst of a "full-scale Russian invasion” (much to Chief Hopper’s eye rolling) but it seems the original character morphed into Theresa ‘Terry’ Ives, a test subject who took part in MKUltra experiments at Hawkins Lab. 

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Stranger Things: The vision for the story arc

As the Stranger Things’ cast peel back the layers of the Hawkins’ mystery, they arrive at the same shocking conclusion involving the supernatural but Will’s disappearance is just the beginning of the three-act series. (Spoiler Alert: Warning, a few spoilers ahead.)

Act One (Episodes 1-3) - The “vanishing” of Will Byers and the resulting fallout in the community.

Act Two (Episodes 4-6) - Montauk becomes increasingly ‘haunted’ as several peripheral characters come to the forefront, including school teacher Mr. Clarke. This act ends with characters and storylines coming together.

Act Three - (Episodes 7-8) - Characters work together hoping to outsmart the military, venture into an alternate dimension, save Will, and, hopefully, close the supernatural “tear”. 

The creators also said they wanted to reinforce the story arc and '80s vibe with classic songs (think Toto’s Africa) and original music - a cinematic, eerie, modern synth sound - inspired by John Carpenter scores like The Thing and The Fog. 

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Stranger Things: The science of horror‍

The horror in Montauk is supernatural, a salute to Spielberg and Stephen King, and deliberately rooted in science - dark matter, black holes, wormholes, alternate universes, and string theory. “We want to use the mathematics of theoretical physics to ground our horror in reality. Our supernatural entities will remain mostly obscured throughout, hidden in the shadows, tucked away just off screen,” the Duffer brothers said. 

“Our characters will struggle with the darkness of the human condition. How do you cope with the abundance of evil in this world? And, in the end, is it worth it?”