Stranger Things creators talk possible directions for a second season

Netflix hasn't officially given Stranger Things co-creators the green light on a second season, but brothers Matt and Ross Duffer already have an idea of where they want to go.

Despite the loose ends surrounding Will's disappearance in alien-land being wrapped up pretty well in the finale, Matt said there was still plenty of avenues they could go down based on the theme of the series. Both Duffers said one of the reasons they wanted to explore the theme of interdimensional worlds and the existence of aliens is because it's a little more scientifically sound than demons or witches. In sticking with that theme, the Duffers said there are other theories they can research that they haven't even touched upon yet.

"If Netflix wants us back for a second season, there are a couple of ideas we couldn't do in the first season that we can do in the second," Matt said.

The reason they didn't include more in the first season, Ross said, was because they wanted Stranger Things to feel like a film. Heavily influenced by iconic filmmakers Steven Spielberg and David Lynch, the brothers didn't want the series to feel corny or leave any kind of cliffhanger. They approached the series like an extended film, and want to do the same thing going forward.

"In order to make it feel like a big movie, we had to resolve this tension," Matt said. "And now, we can focus on the bigger mythology behind what's happened and what this town has experienced. It's open-ended enough that if people wanted it and Netflix wanted it, we could explore it."

Neither of the brothers expected Stranger Things to become as big as it has this quickly. Although Netflix won't release any official numbers for the show, it's become one of the most talked about on the service since it debuted a couple of weeks ago and has garnered a ton of critical attention.

"We can focus on the bigger mythology behind what's happened"

One of Matt's favorite things about Stranger Things — and its fan base which refer to themselves as "Strangers" according to star Millie Brown — is how much passion the audience has for it. Matt said he loves reading the debates between fans about how everything happened or what it means for the future of the series.

"People have their own theories and it makes them feel like participants," Matt said. "I love that people are debating. It's so fun!"

Still, there are some concerns the brothers have about going forward with a second season, with the biggest being just how fast the child actors are aging. The brothers addressed the problem during their press conference and said if Netflix were to give them the second season, they would have to treat it the same way executives working on Harry Potter had to do it.

"We end at Christmas," Matt said. "We can't pick up again in January. We'd have to skip a year or two because the kids will have grown. I mean, look at them now! We'd have to do it the Harry Potter way."

Earlier in the day, Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos said that they hadn't made any announcements about a second season because it was important to mull these things over when it comes to new series. Based on his own criteria, however, which requires shows be heavily talked about, garner critical praise and really resonate with audiences in order to get a second season, the announcement on Stranger Things' sophomore year should be coming relatively soon.