Millie Bobby Brown has revealed that only she and Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers know the true fate of Eleven following the series finale. She added that the show's creators instructed her not to disclose the character's ending.
Speaking during a live recording of the Happy Sad Confused podcast at New York's 92NY, Brown said the brothers contacted her after the finale aired to remind her to keep the secret.
“They were like, ‘Do not tell anyone. Because we made it a secret kind of pledge,'” Brown said. “No one else knows. It’s just us three. And what we do with that information, it’ll be up to them.”
The finale left Eleven's fate deliberately ambiguous, prompting widespread debate among fans over whether the character survived the final battle against Vecna in the Upside Down.
Brown said she followed fan reactions online with her husband, Jake Bongiovi, after the episode premiered on New Year's Eve. She added that even members of the cast remain divided over the ending.
“Jake was like, ‘Ooh, these are really split.’ And the whole cast thinks I’m dead,” Brown said. “One, rude. It’s so rude of them. There’s something to it, surely. You guys are projecting! It’s like, ‘Hey guys, we get it. You want me dead!’ But I was like, ‘Believe!’ Let’s have some hope in here.”
Some cast members have publicly said that Eleven died. David Harbour, who portrayed Jim Hopper, told Variety in a previous interview that he believed her fate was clear.
“A lot of people think maybe she’s in Spain or whatever,” Harbour said. “But right from the very beginning of that series — we love this little girl, but you really can’t have a little girl in Hawkins, Indiana, with supernatural powers running around. She just cannot exist.”
Sadie Sink echoed that view during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, saying, “Is that a hot take or something? Mike’s story is just one last story, and then they say goodbye to childhood. That’s one final tale, and that’s it. It’s just a coping thing. It’s stronger [that way], right?”
Others disagree. Noah Schnapp recently told fans at PeopleCon that Eleven was alive.
At the podcast recording, the majority of attendees also indicated they believed Eleven survived. “We have a hopeful audience,” Brown said. “I love that!”
When asked again about the character's fate, Brown declined to provide a definitive answer.
“All people say now is, ‘Do you believe?’ And of course I believe. I have to believe, honestly — otherwise January will come around again,” she said.
Brown also opened up about the emotional impact of Stranger Things ending after a decade. “I went into a little bit of a slight, slight depression,” she revealed. “It was very hard for me. I would not have expected that coming off of the show. I’m a very happy-go-lucky person.”
The actress said she spent January reconnecting with her co-stars to ensure their relationships would continue after the series wrapped.
Looking ahead, Brown hinted at a future Netflix project with Harbour: “Father-daughter is where we live, but Netflix will always be our home.”
“The David Harbour project is sooner than expected. And it’s David’s idea, so kudos to him,” she added
Brown also said she is “slowly developing things with Netflix, my home studio,” including the romantic comedy Just Picture It with Gabriel LaBelle.