Stranger Things' Joe Keery addresses "Protect Steve" panic
Fans were sent into a frenzy by a Netflix billboard which implied the character could be killed off.
Stranger Things fans took a collective sigh of relief when – somewhat unexpectedly – Joe Keery's Steve Harrington made it through the fourth season alive.
Many had speculated that the fan favourite character could be killed off in the climax of the most recent episodes, particularly after he was subjected to a brutal attack by the bat-like flying monsters of The Upside Down.
Netflix stoked up tensions even higher when the streamer paid for Stranger Things billboards with the words "Protect Steve" written across them and Vecna's tendrils sprawling out from each corner.
Fortunately, Steve will live to fight another day (the Stranger Things writers are already hard at work on season 5 scripts), with Keery admitting he was left a little confused by the nerve-wracking ad campaign.
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"That was some very funny Netflix marketing," he told NME. "It’s pretty funny because they just freaked everybody out, but they knew how it ended! It was like: ‘Why are they saying this?’ Why are they doing this to everyone!"
The billboards received a huge reaction on Twitter, as did the latest episodes themselves, but Keery added that he didn't see anybody's comments as he's been taking a prolonged break from social media.
He continued: "I haven’t been on social media for a while which I think has been good for me. Social media is a very subtle poison that seeps into your self-esteem day-to-day. You have a sense of dread and you don’t know why. Getting rid of it for me really helped."
Keery is currently promoting the launch of his latest studio album, Decide, which will be released next month under his stage name Djo.
However, acting is still a top priority for the emerging talent, with news breaking earlier this week that Keery has joined the cast of Fargo season 5, which also includes Jon Hamm (Good Omens), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso) and Lamorne Morris (New Girl).
Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
