Yes, Dungeons & Dragons is part of the DNA of Stranger Things. But creators Matt and Ross Duffer have confirmed that the Netflix series won’t end with the reveal that all of the transpiring events were just part of a campaign from the fantasy tabletop experience.
Metro asked the brothers about this fan theory hypothesizing that Hawkins, Indiana, doesn’t actually have portals to the Upside Down appearing in town–like what happened at the end of Stranger Things: Season 4. Instead, it’s all just been conjured up by imagination in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. To this, the Duffer brothers shot down the concept immediately.
“That would be the equivalent of, ‘That’s all a dream,'” Ross Duffer said. “No, I assure you that is not how we’re going to end the show. We’ve known where we’ve been going for a while. And we feel comfortable with it; hopefully, it satisfies everyone. We’ll see.”