With the clock ticking onStranger Thingsseason 5, Joe Keery reflects on his screen time with Gaten Matarazzo and how their dynamic has evolved during the show’s nine-year run. One ofStranger Things’strengths is its characters and the way the Hawkins crew all interact with one another.The show isn’t afraid to throw together unlikely pairings: one such pairing isSteve Harrington and Dustin Henderson.
A bright spot in what was otherwise a creepy and terrifying season, Dustin and Steve’s mentor-mentee dynamic inStranger Thingsseason 2 soon became a firm fan favorite, and the show has kept them close ever since. TheStranger Thingsseason 5 teaser trailerproves we’ll see them together again, although it looks like they’re in for a tough ride.
During an interview for Keery’s new Italian period filmFinally Dawn,ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns asked the actor about Dustin and Steve’s relationship and what it was like to work with Matarazzo throughout the show.
ScreenRant: “I did want to ask you really quickly, as I’m sure everybody is, very excited about Stranger Things season 5. I know you can’t share a thing, but obviously, the trailer just dropped and shows at least we’re getting more Dustin and Steve. I’d love to hear that relationship has come, maybe not full circle, but evolved from season 1, even now to season 5, given they’ve been such a dynamic pairing throughout this entire show?”
Joe Keery: “Yeah, it’s hard sometimes for me to even remember, just because the dynamic has changed. He was a young actor, I don’t know, 11 or 12 or something, when we started. And, yeah, we’ve all kind of gone on this ride together, and everybody’s really seen them grow up. But it’s been really cool for me to just watch all the younger cast members grow into themselves. Gaten, in particular, he’s doing all this amazing stuff. He was in Dear Evan Hansen, he did a Sweeney Todd, has done a bunch of different films, it’s just so cool to see. He’s such a talented guy, but he also seems very mature and focused on really doing what makes him happy. So, that makes me feel really happy, and working with him has just been such a joy. I hope maybe, at some point in our distant future, we can do something else, one more time.”
What We Know About Steve And Dustin In Stranger Things Season 5
Steve And Dustin Will Ride Into Battle Together Again
Of course, Keery couldn’t reveal much about the plot ofStranger Thingsseason 5 or his character’s involvement. The trailer does include a few shots of Steve and Dustin, though, both in groups and together. In one shot, Steve is comforting Dustin. Whether this is connected to something new in the season or a result ofDustin’s continued grief over Eddie Munson(Joseph Quinn) remains to be seen.
Steve and Dustin are also shown to be involved in the fight to reclaim Hawkins, which seemingly includes strategies such as wide-scale burnings (we know the Upside Down’s monsters do not like heat) and somethinginvolving the radio tower.
Music acts as a deterrent against Vecna’s psychological hold. Dustin engineered a specialized radio to communicate with his girlfriend Suzie inStranger Thingsseason 3. What if he rigged something to strengthen the radio tower’s signal?
Our Take On Steve And Dustin In Stranger Things 5
They Represent The Best Of Stranger Things
It makes sense for Steve and Dustin to work together again during the final battle against Vecna. Not only do they provide the show’s much-needed comic relief, but they have an instinctual trust, one that will hopefully help them survive this final round ofStranger Things.Steve is fearless, and Dustin is whip-smart. They make a formidable duo.
As Vecna and the Hawkins gang gear up for the fight of a lifetime, it’ll be nice to see Steve and Dustin together one last time. They represent what we all love most aboutStranger Things: people coming together in dire circumstances and forming unlikely but beautifully strong relationships along the way.
