'Stranger Things 5' Documentary: Duffer Brothers Revealed Shooting the Finale Without Finished Script

Netflix's newly released documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, has exposed the Duffer Brothers. It was revealed that the season finale of the hit series was filmed without a finished script — and fans are now weighing in.

While some viewers are beginning to understand why the Stranger Things finale played out in a way that left many unsatisfied, others are calling out the Duffer Brothers, resurfacing their past comments about 'knowing' how the series would end.

'Stranger Things 5' Shot Without a Finished Script

One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5 is a two-hour behind-the-scenes documentary that, according to Netflix's Tudum, 'gives viewers an inside look at the years of effort and craft that went into the final instalment of the Duffer Brothers' generation-defining series.'

However, the documentary's purpose is not just to showcase the making of the final season of the Netflix hit series, which ran for a decade; it also aims to reflect on the show's journey and legacy. But instead of the celebration the creators and Netflix may have expected, the documentary was met with a mixed reaction.

Fans finally understood what went down the hills for the final season: Stranger Things 5 was filmed without a finished script — which explains why the finale felt chaotic, rushed, and emotionally off for so many viewers.

As reported by Collider, the Duffer Brothers openly admitted in the documentary that they didn't finish writing the finale before filming began. Matt said, 'We went into production without having a finished script for the finale.'

'I haven't read eight through and we are shooting it,' Ross told the crew amid filming. 'I have never done something like this before. I don't love it,' Ross admitted.

A crew member also weighed in on the situation and summed it up by describing the entire season as 'laying down the tracks as the train is going.'

But to top it all off, it wasn't just the beginning of Season 5 that was filmed without a finished script. The season finale, Chapter Eight: The Upside Down, also began shooting before the script was locked in. It was revealed that scenes from Episode 8 were filmed ahead of time.

On top of that, a clip of a production assistant from the show circulating online shows them admitting that the script was not fully written yet and that they didn't 'fully know what's going on,' even describing the day of filming as 'very interesting.'

Montana Maniscalco, a key set production assistant, said: 'We are shooting episode 8, which isn't completely written yet — spoiler already. So we don't even fully know what's going on.'

The documentary left no cracks, with insiders showing footage of the Duffer Brothers looking genuinely troubled as they admitted they had no idea how to reach their ending.

Fans Weigh In

As expected, fans had strong reactions to the revelations, with some finally understanding why they were left unsatisfied with the season finale, while others revisited what the Duffer Brothers had said in the past.

Twitter user @bedrot_barbie wrote, 'They have been saying for years that the ending was decided during S1, why are we lying?'

This was echoed by a Reddit user (u/DiscombobulatedBox72), who said, 'I know it's common, but the Duffer Brothers always said that they knew how it would end... They had three years, so debating whether they would be demo monsters in the Abyss or the fate of El just doesn't do it for me. Just feels like a lie.'

However, some fans defended the creators, noting that the idea of a 'finished' script is more nuanced than it seems. One Reddit user explained:

'"Finished" is the important concept that anyone not in production doesn't seem to understand. Scripts are written and rewritten dozens of times.'

They clarified that the Duffer Brothers weren't saying the last pages were blank, only that production began before all scripts were fully locked. 'It's not uncommon for films or shows to go into production with draft scripts that haven't been finalised. Plus, rewrites during filming are standard — that's show business.'

Meanwhile, some fans cannot believe that Netflix and the Duffers revealed they had filmed parts of the show unfinished.

One said, 'I cannot believe they are allowing this to be shown. This is objective proof that the final season is total nonsense. You cannot shoot a show or movie when you literally do not know what the plan is. INSANE!'

Another fan echoed the same sentiment, saying, 'I cannot believe they would release a documentary that is so exposing of their incompetence.'

Why It Was Filmed Without a Finished Script

The creators shot the final season despite the script not being finished, caught between tight deadlines and an aging cast.

A major challenge was the Camazotz sequence, which relied on specific summer sunlight to capture the look of Vecna's mind. They went ahead and filmed the scenes before the story was fully finalised, creating a 'race against the clock' with pages handed to actors just days before shooting.