Three Stranger Things cast members have dashed fans' dreams of a secret ninth episode dropping with a new skit poking fun at the conspiracy theory.
Whilst appearing on Saturday Night Live, stars Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Gaten Matarazzo took part in a skit jokingly teasing a bunch of Stranger Things spin-offs.
However, at the end of the segment, the narrator said, "Remember that mysterious ninth episode that the internet was convinced existed? It didn't. But it does now!" We then see Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson in Iceland looking for Eleven. "Everything we thought happened was an illusion planted by Vecna. He's still out there."
The skit is obviously poking fun at Conformity Gate aka the fan-led theory that the Stranger Things season 5 finale was just a ruse created by Vecna, and the real finale is still on the way. Fans took what they thought were clues from the main show and predicted that season 5 episode 9 would drop on January 7, but it never did. However, the skit really took the cake when 'Eleven' appeared behind the three boys, only for it to be SNL cast member Kenan Thompson in a hospital gown holding a waffle. Check out the full video below.
The rest of the segment included fake teasers for possible Stranger Things spin-offs, prequels, and sequels. There was 'Strangerous Minds' with Steve Harrington, parodying the 1996 movie Dangerous Minds, a Nancy Drew-style detective show led by Nancy Wheeler, and a Sex and the City-inspired segment where Mike, Lucas, and Dustin move to New York City in the '90s and talk about their sex lives.
This is not the first time a cast member has publicly ruled out any chance of a secret ninth episode. Whilst speaking to BBC Radio 1, Steve Harrington star Joe Keery said the theory was "not true," and Vecna star Jamie Campbell Bower took matters into his own hands over on Twitter, writing, "That’s it my loves. Holiday mode activated." Although series creators The Duffer Brothers are yet to speak on the matter, the director behind One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things told Gold Derby that she thinks the conspiracy is just "wishful thinking."
All episodes of Stranger Things are streaming now. For more on the finale, check out our breakdown of the Stranger Things season 5 finale explained, or see our Stranger Things season 5 finale review.
