Stranger Things didn’t come away with any Golden Globes on Sunday night, though Jimmy Fallon’s cold open did let us bask in the resurrection of Barb and the off-the-chart cuteness of the show’s leading kids. But while Eleven’s adorability is a big factor behind the show’s PG-friendliness, the first iteration of Stranger Things was far from family fare, as series creators Matt and Ross Duffer revealed to Vulture on the red carpet.
“The Eleven character, the kind of powers she has and to have a young protagonist that’s violent — it’s not E.T. It’s not a happy situation. She’s killing people, and brutally murdering them,” Ross told Vulture. “The original pilot was much more violent. It was originally like an R-rated thing,” Matt added. “Winona’s character was like, ‘Eff this, eff that!’ It felt a little bit unnecessary. I don’t feel like we sacrificed anything by toning it down a little bit.”
The brothers also didn’t sacrifice much in the way of spoilers for season two, but they did give us a head’s-up about the state of the Upside Down. “This gateway to another dimension is still open, so that’s not a good thing,” Ross said. “Will was in another dimension for a while, so he may not be quite up to par. Those are the two things that are gonna kick-start us moving forward.” Get ready to l’Eggo those Eggos.
