Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo wants show to ‘kill more people’ in Season 5

“Stranger Things” star Gaten Matarazzo knows what he wants to see in the final episodes of the Netflix hit — death, destruction and chaos.

“It might sound messed up, but we should kill more people,” Matarazzo, 21, said when asked what changes he would make to the show during an appearance at a panel at MegaCon Orlando in Florida.

“This show would be so much better if the stakes were much higher,” he told a fan, according to CBR. “Like, at any moment, any of these kids can kick it.”

He added: “I feel like we’re all too safe.”

“Stranger Things” is entering its fifth and final season, which is not expected to premiere until sometime in 2025. Production on the series was delayed due to the double-whammy writers (WGA) and actors (SAG-AFTRA) strikes last year.

Production on Season 5 kicked off last month.

Matarazzo has played Dustin Henderson on “Stranger Things” since the sci-fi series premiered in 2016. It was created by Ross and Matt Duffer, known collectively as the Duffer Brothers.

Along with “higher stakes” for the series finale, Matarazzo added that he has a big idea for his character — having a “hero’s moment” for Dustin.

His co-star, Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley, voiced a similar sentiment to Rolling Stone during a 2022 interview.

“I would love to die and get my hero’s moment,” she said. “I’d love to die with honor, as any actor would. But I love the way that the Duffer Brothers love their actors.

“The reason they write so beautifully for me and everyone else is because they fall in love with their actors and their characters, and they don’t want to kill them.”

Hawke, 25, continued: “I think that’s a beautiful quality that they have, and I wouldn’t wish it away.”

“Stranger Things” has killed off multiple characters in the past, including Barb (Shannon Purser) in Season 1 and Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) in Season 4.

The Duffer Brothers told the Guardian that the final season of “Stranger Things” is “like Season 1 on steroids” — and said the show will be bigger in scope as it closes out its five-season run.

“It’s the biggest it’s ever been in terms of scale, but has been really fun because everyone’s back together in Hawkins,” Matt told the Guardian. “The boys and Eleven interacting more in line with how it was in season one. And, yes, there may be spinoffs, but the story of Eleven and Dustin and Lucas and Hopper, their stories are done here. That’s it …”

Last Nov. 6 on “Stranger Things Day,” the Duffer Brothers shared some lines from the Season 5 premiere, called “Chapter One: The Crawl”: “DARKNESS. The sound of COLD WIND. GROANING TREES. And … A CHILD’S VOICE. Singing a familiar song.”

In addition to Matarazzo and Hawke, the “Stranger Things” cast includes Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Noah Schnapp (Will), Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Sadie Sink (Max), Joe Keery (Steve), Winona Ryder (Joyce), David Harbour (Hopper) and Natalie Dyer (Nancy).