Gaten Matarazzo Responds to the “Stranger Things 4” Plot Line He Accidentally Spoiled Back in 2016
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Between the super successful release of Stranger Things 4: Volume 1 and scoring a summer gig on Broadway as Jared in “Dear Evan Hansen,” Gaten Matarazzo is on the up-and-up. Seventeen sat down with the now 19-year-old actor (feel old yet?) to chat about his experience filming Stranger Things 4, his favorite video games of all time, and the accidental spoiler that got leaked back in 2016, except nobody caught it.
When it came to his favorite memories of filming with the cast he’s worked with for seven years, Gaten brought up the pause in filming that the crew was forced to take before reuniting months later to finish off the season. “It had been such a scary, unpredictable time, but we got back into it after six months and I remember it was a really emotional day being back, realizing how much I had taken for granted, how much I love these people, how much I love this show, how much I love my work. I think that’s something everybody can relate to — realizing how much we loved our daily lives and careers and the people in our lives.”
Speaking of downtime, Gaten recently teamed up with Nintendo and tells me that I’ve come to the right place to learn “ever so much about video games.” He's a big fan of Nintendo Switch Sports, which will feel familiar to anyone who grew up hitting the tennis courts and bowling alleys through Wii Sports. He’s also majorly competitive when it comes to playing Mario Kart, which is truly the only way to play the fan-favorite racing game. “My siblings and I go crazy for it to the level that it’s just unhealthily competitive. More so for them, because I’m better than them, and you can tell them I said that,” Gaten laughs.
I asked Gaten if he ever snuck a Nintendo Switch onto set to battle it out on Rainbow Road with his fellow Stranger Things 4 cast mates, to which he responded, “I wanted to very, very badly," despite keeping his video games at home to focus on filming the most intense season of Stranger Things yet. The cast filmed in Atlanta and New Mexico, as well as Lithuania for the scenes that took place in Russia. “[Lithuania] is a gorgeous country and I never got to go — I was very upset about that. There were videos that our cast members had sent of themselves throwing cups of water into the air and watching snow rain down,” Gaten remarked.
I also, of course, had to ask Gaten about the ST4 plot line that he accidentally revealed in 2016 — long before anyone even knew there was going to be a fourth season, let alone what the plot would be. “It was crazy, I was just reading a fan theory off of Reddit that was apparently spot-on. I’m just so happy that it didn’t go viral until after [Season 4],” laughed Gaten. “It was surprisingly accurate. I’m glad it didn’t gain too much traction before the show came out.”
Nobody caught on back in 2016, but a seriously smart Reddit fan posed a theory about the rest of Eleven’s cohort, postulating that most of the test subjects (a.k.a 1 through 10) were dead, but some had been banished to the Upside Down and couldn’t get out. Young Gaten had mentioned this crazy fan theory as one of his personal favorites back when the cast wasn’t even sure that Stranger Things was getting renewed for a second season — not a leak from someone on the inside, just a really, really smart fan.
“We should hire that person to help for Season 5,” Gaten joked. “I want someone to reach out and be like, that was my theory, and if they have proof of that I’ll send ‘em to the writers. They were good.”
Whoever you are, wherever you are — give us a shout! Gaten and the rest of the Stranger Things team want to hear from you. 👀
*parts of this interview have been lightly edited for clarity.
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