After four seasons spanning nearly 10 years, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer are finally ready to explain the mysterious origins of the Upside Down.
“When we approached Netflix, we knew they weren't interested in doing a limited series, so when we did the first season, we knew that if it was successful, it would continue, and so we intentionally kept some mysteries hidden,” Ross said. SFX Magazine. “The biggest question in season one was what the Upside Down actually is, and that's something we've known for almost 10 years. We thought about revealing it every time we wrote a season, and we just kept holding it in and holding it back. It's been interesting this season to finally reveal what the Upside Down is, and it plays a huge part in the narrative, this final mystery of what it is and what it all means.”
While the Upside Down began as an alternate dimension infested with dangerous creatures, season four deepened the lore and explained that while the Upside Down was technically created in 1983 (thanks to Eleven), there are multiple alternate dimensions – one of which Henry Creel, aka Vecna, was banished to in 1979. The “Upside Down” opened, a mirror copy of the human world, after Eleven accidentally opened the Mother Gate in the first season (when Dr. Brennan, aka Papa, pushed her into psychic contact with the Demogorgon). Although this gate was eventually sealed, the Upside Down continued to grow and new gates continued to open.
“From the first season, we tried to show everything,” he continued. “We're always trying to make the coolest season we can, and with the exception of holding back Upside Down, we're trying to put everything on the table. We treat each season more like a full movie. It’s not that we didn’t take into account the mythology or the slow unfolding of the mythology, but the focus was always to try to tell the best story possible.”
Ross added: “Most of the unsolved mysteries in the series so far involve the Upside Down. Being able to finally reveal all of this was very nice. And it resulted in some pretty impressive sets and visual effects that we're really proud of.”
