‘Stranger Things’ Documentary Director Responds to ChatGPT Finale Rumors

The director behind the new Netflix “Stranger Things”A behind-the-scenes documentary is setting the record straight after a wave of online speculation claimed the Duffer brothers used ChatGPT to write the series finale. When “One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5” premiered on Monday, longtime fans quickly took to social media, insisting they spotted the AI ​​platform icon open on a computer. The moment in question appears in footage of creators Ross and Matt Duffer discussing how they structured their ideas for the finale, while a Google document is shown open on their laptops, and that’s all it took to spark a real online debate. The backlash quickly escalated, with furious fans accusing the Duffers of turning to AI and even suggesting they relied on Reddit fan theories while writing the final chapter of “Stranger Things.”

Today, documentary filmmaker Martina Radwan publicly defends the creators of the series and categorically denies these speculations. Radwan said The Hollywood Reporter, “I mean, are we really sure they opened ChatGPT?”

Pressed by unsubstantiated claims, Radwan forcefully resisted, saying the idea of ​​using AI to write a sprawling, character-rich series like “Stranger Things” didn’t even make sense to her. “Well, there’s a lot of talk where [social media users] » say: “We don’t really know, but we assume. “But to me, it’s like, hasn’t everyone opened it to do a quick search?”

She continued: “How can you write a script with 19 characters and use ChatGPT, I don’t even understand.”

Radwan also clarified that she never saw anything in the writers’ room that could support the accusations online, and she highlighted the difference between having an accessible tool and relying on it unethically. “I haven’t witnessed any unethical use of generative AI in the writers’ room. Again, first of all, no one has actually proven that it’s open,” she said. “It’s like having your iPhone next to your computer while you write a story.”

According to Radwan, even the presence of ChatGPT on someone’s computer would not constitute proof of wrongdoing. She says that would only suggest that creators and the people around them are multitasking in the same way that most professionals do today, and that the Duffer brothers and others working behind the scenes on “Stranger Things” are “just using these tools … while multitasking.” She added that “there’s a lot going on all the time, every time” when creating the show.

Beyond denying these claims, Radwan admitted that she was disappointed by how quickly fans jumped to conclusions, especially considering that how popular the series is. “What I find heartbreaking is that everyone loves the show, and all of a sudden we have to break it up,” she said.

And as for what she actually saw while the cameras were rolling, Radwan pointed out that the creative process doesn’t look like what many viewers think, and it certainly wasn’t a room full of people outsourcing work. “I’ve witnessed creative exchanges. I’ve witnessed conversations. People think ‘writers room’ means people sit there writing. No, it’s a creative exchange. It’s the development of a story,” she said. “And, of course, you go into 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 it.

Elsewhere in the interview, Radwan was asked about a moment in the documentary where it appeared Netflix was growing impatient with the time it was taking for scripts to be put together and whether she had observed any real pressure coming from the streamer. His response was that pressure is part of the job and not unique to “Stranger Things.”

“It’s very difficult to take that out of context, because again, on every film set you have this situation where, like, you’re waiting for the script, you’re rewriting the script. It happens all the time,” she told the outlet. “The biggest pressure point on a set is time, which equals money. There’s this constant pressure point of, ‘Are we going to make this day?’ Are we going to achieve this?