If you’re a serious Stranger Things fan as well as a serious Monopoly fan, you might want to hold off a bit longer before diving into the new themed edition of the classic board game, because it spoils some pretty major plot points from Stranger Things Season 4. Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer are not happy about it, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While the Duffer Brothers are reportedly quite involved with marketing efforts for their massively successful Netflix series, the show is too big at this point for them to see everything, and the game seems to have slipped by, causing the brothers to have a “total meltdown” according to sources.
The toy and board game industries move at a different pace from the film and television industries and has been a source of spoilers more than once in recent years, frustrating creators and fans alike. As THR notes, Jon Favreau fiercely protected Grogu, also known as Baby Yoda or The Child, from spoilers, causing the associated toys for the popular character to come months after the show aired. The difference in pace and stocking schedules also came into relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, when toys associated with things like Ghostbusters Afterlife and Marvel Cinematic Universe films had their toys arriving in stores months ahead of their films.
A thread over on Reddit says that the owner who leaked the Stranger Things game bought it “fair and square” at a “nationally recognized retailer,” meaning that it wasn’t snatched out of a shipping box or from a test kit Parker Bros., but rather was simply picked up off a shelf at the store. These details remain unconfirmed, however.
Here’s Netflix’s official description for Stranger Things Season 4: “It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time–and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”
