Every streaming service has its own successful original shows, and Stranger Things remains one of the best Netflix shows to binge watch. Those folks with a Netflix subscription are still debating the series finale of Stranger Things, specifically the fate of Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven. And after originally "pleading the fifth" Dustin actor Gaten Matarazzo has offered his two cents on how the show ended.
The Stranger Things cast grew up before our eyes, including Gaten Matarazzo, who has stayed busy with both film and stage projects. While speaking with THR about his new project Pizza Movie (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription), the 23 year-old actor spoke about Eleven's fate, offering:
Initially, I was like, I’m going to keep pleading the fifth. And then everybody else started saying what they thought, so maybe I will do the same. But I feel like it’d be such a bummer to get on that train and say that I think she’s dead as well. I definitely believe Dustin thinks she’s dead. He’s such a pragmatic, scientific dude who looks at all the evidence in front of him, and I don’t think he would truly believe it the way an optimist like Mike would. But for his friend, he will probably always say that he does believe she’s alive.
Well, I'm intrigued. Despite Dustin saying that he believed Eleven was still alive along with the rest of the Stranger Things party during the final scene, it sounds like Matarazzo thinks he was lying. Namely because Dustin is such a scientist and pragmatic person. So it sounds like maybe he was just saying "I believe" to comfort his friends like Mike. Mind blown.
While the we know what Dustin was apparently thinking during that final Stranger Things scene, what about Gaten himself? Later in the same interview, he offered:
But for me, I’m just going to say that I don’t know. I think she would be [dead], but I also see a world where Matt and Ross would flip it around at some point. I think that’s kind of their intention. So ‘I don’t know’ is what I will say right now.
There you have it. Sounds like Matarazzo is also leaning towards the idea that Elle died at the end of Stranger Things, but he's not putting it past The Duffer Brothers to bring back the character at some point. After all, the franchise has already expanding with the animated series Stranger Things: Tales from '85. So he's not ruling out the fact that Eleven might somehow get a chance to return for another appearance in live-action.
With the beloved sci-fi series in the rear view, it should be interesting to see what comes next for its young cast. Gaten Matarazzo's new film Pizza Movie is streaming now on Hulu as part of the 2026 movie release list.
