Stranger Things fans are eagerly waiting for the fifth and final season. And the credit for this goes to its predecessor, which made an everlasting impact on their minds. Season 4 was undeniably the most mesmerizing and horrific installment of the show viewers have come across since its debut. Even now, when people think about the things that took place in the season, it sends a chill down their throats. From the transcending 80s visuals to the deadly silence in Max’s mind, everything was spectacular.

Seeing this epic scale and finesse in eight episodes, fans showered the Duffer Brothers with praise for their artwork. But were these two actually the masterminds behind this iconic representation of sequences in season 4? Or did Steven Spielberg have a hand in it?

Steven Spielberg became the muse of Stranger Things Season 4 visuals

In 2022, Stranger Things 4 cinematographer Caleb Heymann spoke to Filmmaker Magazine about the shooting. In this interview, he revealed that the Duffer Brothers got a letter from the famous director Steven Spielberg. This letter mentioned many things about the show that he loved all these years. But the Oscar winner emphasized more on the nostalgic blue moonlight they used in the first season.

So the creators referred to that and used it again in the penultimate season to make visuals look better and give an authentic 80s vibe to the audience. This means the duo depicted all those blue light scenes on purpose, which brought astounding visual results. Heymann also stated this task was challenging because they had to move the camera more.

“It’s not just about making it look good in one direction. You have to make it look good in all directions and also keep your lights out of the shot,” said the crew member. Meanwhile, this is not the first time Spielberg influenced the work of Matt and Ross Duffer. In fact, they have admitted that they wanted to be like him.

The Duffer Brothers loved Steven Spielberg’s 80s ideas

In 2017, the Duffer Brothers sat down with The Guardian to talk about the unexpected success of their show. During the conversation, they also opened up about how they got the idea of the horror drama. Ross said that they watched television increasingly coming up with cinematic stuff like True Detective. Also, the legendary drama Games of Thrones made them realize shows do not need to be cheesy always.

They finally picked the idea from Steven Spielberg, who often took inspiration from 80s movies and elevated them to a new level. Thus, they did the same and created a small town in Indiana, filled with supernatural creatures and a hero who could save it all.

What do you think about Spielberg’s contribution to the show? Drop your comments below.