‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Cast, Updates: Co-Creator Hints at Barb Tribute, Concept Art Shows Worse Fate of Shannon Purser’s Character

‘Stranger Things’ co-creator Matt Duffer hinted at a possible tribute for Barb in season 2. Newly released concept art revealed Shannon Purser’s character in worse condition than what was ultimately shown on television.

During an interview with IGN, Matt Duffer confirmed that Barb, portrayed by Shannon Purser, will not be reappearing alive and well on the incoming season of Netflix’s highly popular science-fiction and horror television series.

Matt explained, “I can’t see it happening… But Barb will not be forgotten. We’ll make sure there’s some justice for Barb. People get very frustrated, understandably, that the town doesn’t seem to be really dealing with Barb. That stuff is all happening. We’re just not spending any screen time on it.”

He continued, "It’s not like her parents are like ‘Oh Barb left. She died!’ Season One actually takes place over the course of six or seven days – it’s a really short period of time. So part of what we want to do with hypothetical Season 2 is to explore the repercussions of everything that happened.”

Although one of the show’s most beloved characters will not be making a comeback, antagonist Dr. Martin Brenner is revealed to have lived even after the vicious attack in season 1’s penultimate episode. Brenner, portrayed by Matthew Modine, is the head of the controversial government project MK Ultra who raised Eleven’s powers to make contact with the mysterious Upside Down.

Matt revealed, “I would say that if we were going to kill Brenner… as an audience member watching the show, if that was his death, that would be very unsatisfying to me – when the monster jumps on him and we cut away. He would deserve much more than that as an ending. So yes, there’s a possibility of seeing him again.”

Meanwhile, new concept art of Barb was recently released showing a grizzlier version of her Upside Down death. In the images posted on Games Radar, the artists at Aaron Sims Creativ planned to feature Barb in a worse way compared to what was shown on the small screen.

The team explained, "Based on our original discussion with the Duffers on this design, we wanted to go really graphic with it to highlight the horrific aspects of Barb being eaten, and something then growing on top of her - thus, the ribs poking out of her stomach in the first shot."

They added, “In the final design, they ended up veering away from that because it became too unrecognizable… It was difficult to tell exactly what had happened to her; it wasn’t an issue of it being too graphic, but rather, that the viewer needed to see something that was very recognizably dead.”

‘Stranger Things’ is a web television series created by Mark and Ross Duffer for Netflix. Season 1, which premiered on July 2016, is composed of eight episodes and received favorable reviews from critics and viewers. The network is yet to officially announce the renewal of the series for season 2.