Stranger Things Season 5: Duffer Brothers Explain Holly Wheeler’s Key Role

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for the first part of Stranger Things season 5! This season introduces a new vulnerable child, but it’s not Will Byers – it’s Holly Wheeler, the younger sister of Mike and Nancy. The creators, The Duffer Brothers, are now sharing their reasoning behind making Holly the target of the season’s dangers and explaining their thought process.

In an interview with Variety, the creators of the popular Netflix series, the Duffer Brothers, explained why Vecna targeted Holly (Nell Fisher), similar to how Will (Noah Schnapp) was targeted in the first season. Matt Duffer stated that making Holly a significant character was a recent decision, and Ross Duffer added…

It wasn’t even during the pandemic, actually. We had such a long break that we were able to finish writing Season 4 and even start planning Season 5. She wasn’t involved in that initial planning, which was a key moment. After filming Season 4 and returning, we realized the central story was about these kids being taken. Once we understood that, we became really enthusiastic about making Holly the main focus for the new group of kids.

Image via Netflix

Throughout most of Stranger Things, Holly Wheeler has been a relatively minor character, with limited speaking lines and little impact on the main storyline – a situation similar to that of her parents, Ted and Karen. The Duffer brothers, the show’s creators, spent a lot of time deciding who should play Holly, admitting that she’s a character with very few lines and minimal development.

Matt Duffer explained they were worried about casting Holly because they’d previously used twin girls for the part. He noticed her performance in the trailer for Evil Dead Rise, though he hadn’t seen the full movie.

I recognized her immediately in the trailer – I thought, ‘That’s Holly!’ – but then I momentarily forgot where I knew her from. Our casting director, Carmen Cuba, actually found her and brought her to our attention, and it hit me – I remembered thinking this six months ago! If I’d remembered sooner, it could have saved us a lot of time.

We saw Holly caught inside Vecna’s mental world – a place she calls Camazotz – and were surprised to see Max back as well, also trapped by Vecna during the heartbreaking end of season 4.

I’m really worried about Max and Holly, but I have a feeling their connection might be crucial to stopping Vecna. He seems to target kids because they’re easier to manipulate, so maybe their bond can somehow be used against him. I just hope they can find a way out of this!

The final season of Stranger Things will conclude with two parts. Volume 2 will be available on December 25th, and the very last episodes will premiere on Netflix and in some cinemas on December 31st.

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2025-11-27 21:52