Gaten Matarazzo wants a Dustin-Steve Stranger Things spin-off
By Ashley Hurst
Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) has been talking about the hugely popular1980s nostalgic sci-fi Netflix series a lot recently. The 18-year-old actor has been busy promoting his upcoming Netflix series Prank Encounters, but that won’t stop him from talking about the upcoming fourth season of Stranger Things, and his plans for the future. Turns out he’s not ready to stop playing Dustin just yet; in fact, he is very interested in featuring in his own spin-off series!
Despite first airing in 2016, Netflix has appeared reluctant to develop a Stranger Things spin-off. Still, there are occasional rumors of one being in the works, but nothing has ever come to fruition. Matarazzo is partial to the idea of a spin-off that teams up Dustin and Steve (Joe Keery).
He talks like he already has it all planned out: “I think a Dustin-Steve spinoff would be good if it were in, like, a weird niche format. Like, they didn’t do a full show of it,” Matarazzo told ET Online. “Like a WandaVision type thing or like a web series type thing where on YouTube, there’s weekly episodes of little hijinks they get into, like every now and again, like a skit show. That’d be great. You kind of break that format.”
Dustin and Steve? Sounds amazing, although he admits to having worries about the longevity of a show like that. “I don’t know if a Dustin and Steve full-series spinoff is sustainable. What are they going to do for a whole season, just them?”
Should Netflix decide to go ahead with a spin-off, there are plenty of other Stranger Things stories out there besides the TV show to draw inspiration from. For instance, over the years since season 1 aired, there have been various brilliant comics set within the Stranger Things universe. One comic, Science Camp, details Dustin’s adventures at “Camp Know Where,” where he and Suzie are threatened by a mysterious masked figure.
Sadly, Steve doesn’t show up in those comics. However, they’re still great examples of how a Stranger Things story could work without the entire group of kids teaming up — albeit in the comics medium.
What can we expect from Stranger Things season 4?
It feels like every season the cast of Stranger Things says the new one is much darker than its predecessor. Apparently, season 4 will follow the same trend. During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Matarazzo teased dark times ahead. “I was reading it and I was like, ‘We’re going for it this year. That’s pretty cool….’ So I don’t know if, like, the toddlers are going to enjoy it as much.”
Season 4 is currently in production, so it’ll certainly be a while before we can decide that for ourselves. For now, we’ll have to take his word for it.
Millie Bobby Brown doesn’t like her nails on Stranger Things
Being a part of Stranger Things has been a dream role for star Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) and it’s done wonders for her career. However, it does come with one big annoyance. She has admitted how “depressing” is it for her to have no nails while filming the show. “While filming, I can’t have any nails at all. Most of my characters don’t,” she told Elle.
"[For] Godzilla vs. Kong, I had army green nails for that, which was nice. But today, I have a mint green tip, which is really exciting — except I have to take it off when we start filming! So sad! I love love love getting my nails done; it’s one of my favorite things to do. I personally feel like that’s my time to find cool things and join in on the beauty trends."
Stranger Things season 4 does not have a premiere date yet. In the meantime, seasons 1 through 3 are available for streaming on Netflix.
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