Stranger Things’ producer reaffirms that a certain character is never returning

Stranger Things’ second season is fast approaching and executive producer Shawn Levy is clearing up a few questions still bothering viewers.

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the first season of Stranger Things.]

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Facebook Live, Levy said one of the questions he gets asked the most is what’s going to happen to Barb. Barb, a character who quickly became immortalized by Tumblr and Twitter armies who demanded “Justice for Barb,” was killed by the monster after being dragged into the Upside Down. Despite her death being made adamantly clear, many fans have asked Levy and the Duffer brothers, the guys who created the show, to bring Barb back somehow. Or, at the very least, give her justice.

Levy said there’s no way they could bring Barb back. For those in denial, Levy added that he couldn’t understand why there would be any confusion regarding her fate.

“I’ll give one example that I’ve been asked about a hundred times which is people still think Barb’s alive,” Levy said. “Because you think you want that, but you wouldn’t really want that. I’ve had a lot of people, some huge celebrities come up to me at these awards shows, like, ‘So, between us, Barb’s coming back, right?’ I’m like ‘No, you saw, she had like a creature, slug, worm, snake, coming out of her mouth. I don’t know that there’s a bounce back from that!’

“So no, we are not going to cravenly service the wish-list of fans, we’re going to service the Duffer instincts and what they feel is the right story to tell.”

Levy said that Barb’s role, or lack thereof, in the second season will just be one of the disappointments fans will have to deal with. Levy’s words echo what actor David Harbour, who plays Chief Jim Hopper in the series, told Deadline last month. Some aspects of the series that some fans my not like and be disappointed by, but the point of the second season was to take risks, according to Harbour.

“Some people are going to like strawberry and some people are going to like vanilla better,” Harbour said. “But you can’t try to recreate vanilla. We’re going to take a lot of risks. I think people are going to be pissed off by things. I think they are going to be elated and excited about things. It’s all further in terms of going on this journey.”

Still, for those who are looking for a scarier, darker and more twisted sophomore season, it looks like you’re in luck. In all of the interviews that cast, creators and producers have given about the show’s second season, one point has remained constant: this will be the scariest one yet.

Stranger Things returns for its second season on Oct. 31. You can see the entire interview with Levy below.