Spoiler alert! This story contains details about the final episode of "Stranger Things."
Do you believe?
Theseries finale of "Stranger Things"left Eleven's (Millie Bobby Brown) fate ambiguous, but the actress knows the definitive answer about what happened to her, the show's creators have revealed.
In a Jan. 4 spoiler interview onthe "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, "Stranger Things" creators Matt and Ross Duffer confirmed they have decided what "the truth" is regarding whether Eleven lived or died, which they have shared with Brown.
But the Duffers have no plans to ever reveal this, nor does the actress.
"She's not going to tell you, either," Matt Duffer said on the podcast. "Don't waste your time."
He added, "Millie swore herself to secrecy."
Evidently, the rest of the "Stranger Things" cast isn't allowed to know the truth, either. During the podcast, Duffer texted Brown to remind her not to tell her costarNoah Schnappwhat she knows about Eleven's fate, joking he can't be trusted with secrets. She texted back minutes later, "Of course not."
In theseries finale of "Stranger Things,"released on New Year's Eve, Eleven appears to sacrifice her life and allow herself to die as the Upside Down is destroyed in order to ensure her friends can be safe. But in the final scene, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) lays out a theory about how Eleven could have faked her death and may still be alive somewhere.
Stranger Things' series finale recap −This is really how it ends?
Mike and his friends decide to believe his theory that Eleven is alive, even though they'll never know for sure, but the show leaves it up to the viewer to decide whether they believe, too. While Eleven is shown arriving to a peaceful town, it's unclear whether this is real or simply a visualization of Mike's story.
On "Happy Sad Confused," Matt Duffer revealed the show's writers considered whether Eleven could have a "fully happy ending," where she's "married to Mike and they're living a perfectly happy life," but "we just couldn't figure out a way for that to work." He also argued it would take "away the power of the ending" to tell the audience their interpretation.
In other post-finale interviews, the Duffers noted they left Eleven's fate ambiguous so viewers would have to choose whether to believe Mike's story, just like the characters.
Fast forward a decade later to Nov. 6, 2025, at the final red carpet premiere of "Stranger Things," as the cast prepares to say goodbye to the end of an area filled with Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, bicycle rides, Eggos, secret labs, first loves, heartbreaks and the biggest bad of them all: Vecna. From left: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 world premiere at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Hollywood, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Following the first batch of episodes, fans will have to wait until Christmas Day for "Volume 2" to binge three more episodes. Finally, it will all come to a bittersweet end on New Year's Eve with the series finale (which will also be hitting theaters).After the Season 5 premiere in Los Angeles, Jamie Campbell Bower, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard attended a For Your Consideration event at Netflix's Tudum Theater on Nov. 8, 2025. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Millie Bobby Brown was only 11 (no pun intended) when she attended the Season 1 premiere of "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Now 21, Brown is all grown up in a Rodarte black gown at the final premiere. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
On Nov. 13, 2025, Brown wore another elegant black gown at the UK screening of "Stranger Things 5" at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Noah Schnapp was also 11 when "Stranger Things" first began. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Schnapp, now 21, looked dapper at the final "Stranger Things" premiere." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Schnapp and Brown, who have fostered a close friendship offscreen, share a laugh at the London premiere of "Season Things 5." " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Gaten Matarazzo was almost 13 when "Stranger Things" premiered in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matarazzo, now 23, who plays the beloved Dustin Henderson onscreen, looked rocked a three-piece dark grey suit at the final "Stranger Things" premiere." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Matarazzo at the London screening of the final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin was almost 14 when "Stranger Things" Season 1 premiered in the summer of 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
McLaughlin, now 24, attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
McLaughlin wore custom Joshua Kane at the London premiere. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Finn Wolfhard was almost 12 when "Stranger Things" premiered in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Wolfhard, now 22, spoke to USA TODAY at the "Stranger Things 5" red carpet about how it feels to say goodbye to the hit Netflix show and his costars. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
"I feel like I haven't ever said goodbye totally," Wolfhard said. "It comes in waves, I feel like. But it's really nice to be able to be here with everyone and experience sort of the end, even though it doesn't really feel like the end, because we all still talk a lot."" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Natalia Dyer was 20 years old when she first appeared on Netflix's "Stranger Things" in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dyer, now ushering a new season as a soon-to-be 31-year-old, opted to wear a bold red dress for the final "Stranger Things" premiere as she did for the first. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Dyer attends the "Stranger Things 5" screening in London on Nov. 13, 2025. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
After a breakout Season 1 of "Stranger Things," the core cast was back at it on the red carpet circuit for Season 2. Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown attend the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 2 at Regency Bruin Theatre on Oct. 26, 2017." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Season 2 of the show saw new cast additions including Sadie Sink as May Mayfield and Dacre Montgomery as her brother, Billy Hargrove. "The Goonies" actor Sean Astin, "Beverly Hills Cop" actor Paul Reiser and "Teenland" actress Linnea Berthelsen also joined the cast." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Sadie Sink, now 23, attends Netflix's "Stranger Things 2" premiere on Oct. 26, 2017, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sink attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Sink attends a "Stranger Things" Season 5 screening in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Brown walked hand-in-hand with costar Sink on the black carpet at the Hollywood premiere of "Stranger Things" Season 5 on Nov. 6, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The two have been red carpet besties since the beginning. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Joe Keery, now 33, has been part of the original "Stranger Things" cast since Season 1. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Fast forward a decade later, Keery has also forayed into the music industry. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Keery opts for an edgy, all-black look at the final premiere of "Stranger Things" in Los Angeles. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Charlie Heaton, the brooding Jonathan Byers on "Stranger Things," has also been on the show since the start. Here he is pictured at the 2017 BAFTA Tea Party at Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Heaton, now 31, attends the world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" final season. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Heaton, a UK native, attends the "Stranger Things" screening in London. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Mother! Winona Ryder attends the Season 1 premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Ryder attends the 2025 world premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Blast from the past! David Harbour at the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" at Mack Sennett Studios on July 11, 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
David Harbour, now 50, attends the final premiere of "Stranger Things." He plays Jim Hopper. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Father-daughter duo from the start. Harbour and Brown attend the after party for the premiere of Netflix's "Stranger Things" in 2016. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
The final "Stranger Things" premiere was nearly plagued with controversy after reports surfaced from the Daily Mail on Nov. 1 that Brown had allegedly filed a harassment and bullying claim against her onscreen dad before filming began. During the Nov. 7 premiere, however, the actors showed a united front, conveying nothing but admiration toward each other as phones and cameras measured their every move." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Priah Ferguson, who plays Lucas Sinclair's younger sister Erica Sinclair, also joined the cast of "Stranger Things" in Season 1. She has gradually become a fan favorite with her sassy attitude and quick wit toward her onscreen brother Caleb and the rest of the Hawkins gang. Here she is pictured at the Season 3 premiere of the show on June 28, 2019, in Santa Monica, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Priah Ferguson attends Netflix's "Stranger Things" red carpet premiere for Season 5. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Say "Vecna"! "Stranger Things" cast Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia Dyer, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown (front right) attend the BUILD Series at AOL HQ on Aug. 31, 2016, in New York City. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Strike a pose! The Core Four of Hawkins hit the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on Dec. 11, 2016, in Santa Monica, California." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Gaten Matarazzo at the 22nd annual Critics' Choice Awards. " style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 'Stranger Things' cast then and now — See Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp grow up
Fast forward a decade later to Nov. 6, 2025, at the final red carpet premiere of "Stranger Things," as the cast prepares to say goodbye to the end of an area filled with Demogorgons, Mind Flayers, bicycle rides, Eggos, secret labs, first loves, heartbreaks and the biggest bad of them all: Vecna.From left: Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown and Gaten Matarazzo attend Netflix's "Stranger Things" Season 5 world premiere at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Nov. 6, 2025, in Hollywood, California.
"The characters can't know and the audience can't know because then it puts Eleven in danger and her sacrifice was for nothing," Matt Duffertold The Hollywood Reporter. "So there's a point in not knowing. The boys obviously choose to believe. I'm not sure what the majority of people are thinking, but dipping my toes a little bit into social media, it seems like people are choosing to believe and are going to Mike Wheeler route."
Who dies in the series finaleof 'Stranger Things'?
Speaking toNetflix's Tudum, Ross Duffer also argued that Eleven disappearing at the end of the series was important on a thematic level.
"She represents magic in a lot of ways and the magic of childhood," he explained. "For our characters to move on and for the story of Hawkins and the Upside Down to come to a close, Eleven had to go away. We thought it would be beautiful if our characters continued to believe in that happier ending even if we didn't give them a clear answer to whether that's true or not."
Duffer added, "The fact that they're believing in it, we just thought it was such a better way to end the story and a better way to represent the closure of this journey and their journey from children to adults."
Brown's husband Jake Bongioviappears to have decided on his interpretation of the ending. On Friday, heshared a photo on Instagram of Brownat a screening of the finale and wrote, "I believe!"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Did Eleven die on 'Stranger Things'? Millie Bobby Brown knows truth
