How that opening Dungeons & Dragons scene set the tone for the whole show
“The scene that matters the most to me, weirdly, is the first thing that we ever shot, which is the boys playing Dungeons & Dragons in the basement,” says Ross Duffer, co-creator of Stranger Things, and his brother Matt agrees. “Matt and I had, prior to this show, never really had any success with anything that we had produced, and we had never run a show before, and we were so nervous. And somehow, when we put these four amazing actors – who were so tiny back then – and we had the lighting and we started playing the scene, it just came to life. And it’ll always stick with me, realising that, hey, maybe this is going to work. It felt so authentic and real, and it reminded me of my childhood.”
That’s not how everyone remembers it, though. “I just remember it being such a blast. And I am glad that you guys remember it kindly, because I distinctly remember us never being able to really keep it together,” says Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin on the show, before Ross interjects, “There were focus issues!”
“I think a lot of us agree that that first scene in the basement is probably the most influential in probably all of our careers up to this point,” Gaten continues. “But I was so worried. We had so much fun, and I’m glad you guys did, because I thought the crew was going to just hate us up to that point, considering it felt like we got nothing done.
“It turned out really well, though, and I think it carried the momentum for the rest of the season, because that was first day production. I think that was super essential, establishing the tone going forward and locking in the fact that we had something really special.”
Thanks to Lucca Comics & Games for access to the Stranger Things panel at the 2025 event.