The creators of Stranger Things have responded to a conspiracy theory that claims there exists a ‘Snyder Cut’ of Season 5 Volume 2 amid a petition with nearly 400,000 signatures.

Earlier this week, Stranger Things actor Randy Havens, who plays school teacher Mr. Clarke, pushed back on claims there is a secret 'Snyder cut' of Season 5 Volume 2, as a petition calling on Netflix and the show's creators the Duffer brothers to respond garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures online.

Ahead of the Stranger Things Season 5 finale on New Year’s Eve, Havens appeared to respond to an unverified, fan-made Google Doc detailing allegedly shortened storylines that had gained attention on social media. The Change.org petition that calls on Netflix to release the alleged “unseen footage” has over 378,000 signatures, at the time of this article’s publication.

The most-liked comment on the petition comes from someone who seems convinced that footage was cut from Season 5 Volume 2 for nefarious reasons. “We have been waiting since 2022 to see this last season,” they wrote. “To be robbed of scenes by Netflix which really could have gelled the show all together is absolutely unacceptable, and I speak on behalf of all fans that we have been betrayed for the show we love. We don’t sit down and do nothing, we need to show the Duffer brothers, Netflix, and especially Shawn Levy. We want our full episodes, we want the scenes which change everything. We want our show back.”

Stranger Things fans have slammed the petition and the Google Doc that appears to have inspired it, while praising Havens for hitting back on social media. Now, in a Variety interview, the Duffer brothers insisted the Google Doc is “obviously… not a real thing,” confirmed no scenes were cut from Season 5, and denied accusations of interference from Netflix.

“I don’t think there’s a single cut scene in the entire season,” Ross Duffer said, before Matt Duffer added: “The show has just grown so massive. Online, there’s just so much misinformation. Just tons of it. We would be here for hours trying to bat down the stuff that was not true. But at the end of the day, hopefully the work speaks for itself, and it is the show that Ross and I wanted to make. Netflix was, and has always been, incredible. I mean, there’s no interference or direction at all from them on us. They really trust us, and that’s been true from Season 1 on. It’s never changed, even though the show and the size of the audience have grown.”