The director of the Stranger Things documentary has cast doubt on the fan suggestion that the Duffer brothers might have used ChatGPT to write their scripts.
Martina Radwan’s Stranger Things documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, launched on Netflix this week, and fans have spent their time digging into every detail and pausing to take a closer look at each frame as they continue to process the divisive finale of the hit show.
Social media is awash with shots of the documentary that show a laptop with what appears to be a ChatGPT tab alongside a Google Doc in which Matt and Ross Duffer are working on the finale script. This has now turned into an accusation that Matt and Ross Duffer used ChatGPT to write the script itself. Netflix and the Duffers have yet to comment on the ChatGPT question specifically.
Fans accuse the Duffer Brothers of using AI to write ‘Stranger Things’ final season after spotting ChatGPT tabs in behind-the-scenes documentary. pic.twitter.com/gxmYW2OCUJ
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 13, 2026
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Radwan cast doubt on the fan claims, insisting that at no point did she witness an “unethical” use of generative-AI in the writers room.
“I mean, are we even sure they had ChatGPT open?” Radwan said when asked about the moment in the documentary. “Well, there’s a lot of chatter where [social media users] are like, ‘We don’t really know, but we’re assuming.’ But to me it’s like, doesn’t everybody have it open, to just do quick research?
“How can you possibly write a storyline with 19 characters and use ChatGPT, I don’t even understand.
“Again, first of all, nobody has actually proved that it was open. That’s like having your iPhone next to your computer while you’re writing a story. We just use these tools… while multitasking. So there’s a lot going on all the time, every time. What I find heartbreaking is everybody loves the show, and suddenly we need to pick it apart.”
Radwan was then asked directly if she witnessed an unethical use of generative-AI in the writers room.
“No, of course not,” she replied. “I witnessed creative exchanges. I witnessed conversation. People think ‘writers room’ means people are sitting there writing. No, it’s a creative exchange. It’s story development. And, of course, you go places in your creative mind and then you come back [to the script]. I think being in the writers room is such a privilege and such a gift to be able to witness that.”
The Stranger Things Season 5 finale, which left it up to the audience to decide whether Eleven was alive or dead, has proven so divisive that some fans have concocted stories about secret ‘Snyder cuts’ and theories about a ninth episode that would have revealed the show’s true ending. Both were proven to be fake. Still, a petition to release this supposed “unseen footage” gained nearly 400,000 signatures — despite being debunked by the cast. Some fans are even using generative AI to make alternative Stranger Things endings.
Ultimately, Stranger Things really is done and dusted. And don’t expect a follow-up either. The Duffers have ruled out a Stranger Things sequel that would check in on the characters years later, saying it would be “a gross cash grab.”
But all is not lost for Stranger Things fans. Netflix has two announced Stranger Things spinoffs in development, the first of which is Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, a new animated series due out this year. This is set in the same universe between Seasons 2 and 3, and follows the original characters as they “fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town.” The second spinoff is an unnamed live-action series.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
