Gaten Matarazzo Wants a 'Time-Turner' asStranger ThingsNears End: 'Almost' Been Doing Show 'Longer Than I Haven't'

Mar. 15, 2025

Gaten Matarazzo.Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images

Gaten Matarazzois feeling all the emotions asStranger Thingsnears an end.

In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Matarazzo, 22, explained that the final two seasons ofStranger Thingstaking longer than expected to air was actually a blessing in disguise. Given the fact that he’s been on the show for so long, he said the idea of it coming to an end is sad.

“And at this point, I’ve almost been doingStranger Thingslonger than I haven’t,” he continued. “It’s taken about a decade of my life and it’s the most formative decade of my life."

“So I’ll always be really grateful, and coming to terms with letting that go is increasingly difficult, for sure, in a work sense and in a life sense,” he added. “You can always expect that next season, work-wise and emotionally. So it’s going to be a different adjustment and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

From left: Maya Hawke, Joe Keery, and Gaten Matarazzo in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3.Netlfix

Netlfix

Teasing the upcoming fifth and final season ofStranger Things,Matarazzo said it truly is the “biggest, darkest, scariest” one yet.

“I think that’s the goal,” he shared. “That’s certainly the intention behind writing it. The one consistency of this show is that it just grows every year in scale and size and in the message that they want to bring. So this season is not different in the slightest, and I knew that they had prepped that, initially.”

“They said, ‘Hey, this one is going to be really, really big. We’re not going to candy-coat it: it’s a full year shoot.’ And that led to a big reaction of, like, ‘Oh, so we’re really going for it,'” he recalled. “So we have been [going for it] and we still are. I’m excited for people to see it.”

Although he toldTHRthat he would be okay forever being known as the actor fromStranger Things,Matarazzo’s latest animated project,LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy,has introduced him to a new world of voice acting. As an avidStar Warsfan, he said working on that, along withMark Hamill, who has played Luke Skywalker since 1977, was a dream.

“To have [Mark Hamill] come back and do this is really, really kind,” Matarazzo gushed. “He elevates the show so much, and he also accentuates how brilliant the show is since people from the original trilogy wanted to be a part of it. We’re eternally grateful.”

“I’m aStar Warsfiend, and so when I was approached, I was like, ‘I don’t care if the script is dog s—; I’m doing it,’” he went on. “And, of course, the script wasn’t that. So everything just fell into place to be a full-blown dream project that was basically a fan film. Lucasfilm let [showrunners] Dan [Hernandez] and Benji [Samit] get away with pretty much whatever they wanted, which was a miracle in and of itself.”

Gaten Matarazzo.Theo Wargo/Getty

Now,Stranger Things’producer and directorShawn Levyis developing aStar Warsmovie, and that is certainly on Matarazzo’s radar.

“We’ve all been making little bits about it, for sure, but he’s got so much on his plate right now,” he explained. “He’s been going and going and going, and I’m really excited for him. Of course, he’s a very established director who’s done some of my favorite works even before he worked onStrangerThings, but all of these new projects are well deserved. He would bring such a levity and a joy toStar Wars, and that’s what the franchise definitely needs right now.”

He added: “So I’m here!”

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Seasons 1-4 ofStrangers Things are currently streaming on Netflix. A premiere date for season 5 has not been announced.

source: people.com