After five seasons, the series Stranger things is coming to an end, but a new portal is already opening, as the creators of the series, twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, tell the BBC that a spin-off series is in the works.
"It's still too early, but we're excited about everything."
"There are new characters and there is a new mystery, so everything is different, but we will remain in the same world," says Matt Duffer.
The two believe there's more to explore, but Matt's twin brother Ross explains that they've always seen the original story as a complete package and this is definitely "the end for those characters."
The clarity of the ending was always part of the plan, and Matt says the final scene "was one of the things we planned from the very beginning."
"We always knew where we were going, so that was like our guiding star and we built the entire season around that final scene," he adds.
The fifth season is set in the fall of 1987.
Hawkins, Indiana, is still recovering from the opening of the Rift, and a group of friends must find and kill Loaf.
At the same time, the city is under military quarantine as the hunt for Eleven intensifies.
The brothers, who were in their early thirties when they began work on the series, had always planned for four or five seasons, but say it still feels surreal that they've made it this far.
- Stranger Things season 5 announcement delights fans
- It is not easy to play Vekna, the source of all evil in the series Stranger Things
- The prequel to "Stranger Things" in the theater: You can expect darkness and fun, the authors promise
What started as a nostalgic horror about a missing boy in a sleepy town quickly grew into one of Netflix's biggest global hits.
"When you're making a series, you're so immersed in it that you forget how far you've come, and we put everything we have into it every season."
"And when we were filming the first one, we didn't even know if we were going to get to do the second one," says Ross.
It's a feeling shared by the entire cast.
Joe Currie, whose character Steve Harrington goes from high school jock to heroic mentor figure, tells the BBC that he remembers saying goodbye to everyone after the first season and wasn't sure he'd ever see them again.
"The first season felt like you were making a little independent film, and now it's a crazy movie with a huge budget," the 33-year-old says in disbelief.
By the time the first season was finished, after a year of filming, "we felt like we had been working on it forever."
"But we had a great time filming it, and the friendships we made will last forever. We will continue to be a part of each other's lives," he adds.
Natalia Dyer, who plays Nancy Wheeler, says the friendships forged behind the scenes mirror those of their characters on screen.
"These characters have a shared secret world that they know in real life, and we have something similar and are the only people who know this series inside and out."
Charlie Heaton, who plays Natalie's boyfriend Jonathan Byers on the show, agrees, explaining that "the events in the show change these characters' lives forever, and in a similar way, the show has changed our lives forever."
There are reports that not everything went smoothly.
The Mail on Sunday recently reported that Millie Bobby Brown had filed a harassment and bullying lawsuit against her co-star David Harbour, but this has not been confirmed.
However, the cast insists that there is a great camaraderie among everyone, while the Duffer brothers say they felt a huge responsibility to protect the younger actors in the cast throughout filming.
"When we cast them, we didn't know the show would become what it has become, and you hear so many horror stories about young people who become famous because the spotlight can be cruel," says Ross.
"I think it helped that there were a lot of younger cast members so they weren't going through anything alone and they could turn to each other during tough times."
That solidarity was vital for Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, and says growing up in the spotlight was a challenge "because you're going through puberty and life changes at the same time when you're part of a Stranger things. "
His best friends on screen, and perhaps off, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Materazzo agree with him, and the trio starts laughing about how young they were when they first met.
I ask the young men how they feel about ending the series and moving on to new projects, and Gaiten is the first to admit to feeling a kind of trepidation.
"I'm a little insecure, and there's a little anxiety, but I think that's the point."
The 23-year-old, who plays Dustin Henderson, says he feels like this is the right time to step into uncharted territory.
"The essence of your twenties is about change, transition, and maturation, and we are incredibly lucky to be in a position to establish consistency in our careers."
"I see it as a real blessing and look at it as brightly as I can, because it can be scary when you don't have the comfort of knowing that there's another season of Stranger Things."
The series' legacy is undeniable - it transformed a team of rookies into stars and spawned a global fan base that grew up with it.
Caleb hopes that this connection will last and that the series "will continue to live on and become one of those things that people will watch over and over again and never get tired of, like a classic movie."
Knowing how much of an impact the series has had makes saying goodbye even harder, and the last day of filming is something Caleb won't forget anytime soon.
"Everyone was there, and it brought us back to the first episode - that feeling of home, of being supported and loved, and we all agree on how attached we are to the show," he says.
Netflix has announced an animated sequel, while details about the Duffer Brothers' live-action spin-off are still shrouded in secrecy.
This is the end of an era for the current cast.
But would they get back together for another project?
"Our part of the story about Stranger things is over for now.
"But if they call us after a while, who knows?" says Gaten.
The first four episodes of season five will be available in the US from November 26th, with the next three arriving on Christmas Day. In the UK, they will arrive a day later.
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us HERE.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram i Viber. If you have a topic suggestion for us, please contact bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
- Lost on Screen: Twenty Years of Lost
- Longest television series: From soap operas to sitcoms
- The Sopranos: The groundbreaking series we'll talk about forever
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
