--- title: "Netflix Is Letting Directors Retroactively Edit Shows Now" description: "The Duffer brothers — the directors of Netflix hit \"Stranger Things\" — retroactive edit their show. Will this become a streaming-wide trend?" date: "2022-07-28" modified: "2022-07-28" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/netflix-retroactive-editing" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "culture" - "film/television" - "streaming" - "the digest" --- # Netflix Is Letting Directors Retroactively Edit Shows Now ![The Duffer brothers — the directors of Netflix hit "Stranger Things" — retroactive edit their show. Will this become a streaming-wide trend?]() *\Image: Netflix\* ## Rearranger Things Back in June, the Duffer brothers — AKA Netflix's star directorial duo, responsible for a little show known as "Stranger Things" — admitted that they've retroactively edited a number of scenes in their acclaimed series. As Jack King for [*GQ UK* argued this week](), this revelation may warn of an odd new era for art and entertainment. To recap, the directors had [sat down with *Variety* to discuss]() the just-released first half of their hit show's final season. In that chat, they explained that after fans noticed a plot hole (specifically, the forgotten birthday of a major character) they'd gone back and band-aided the mistake. Some fans were upset, and they wanted to right the wrong. But that wasn't all. The Duffers further conceded that they'd retroactively edited even more things throughout the series, altering visual effects and then some — including a few moments from the most recent season, just days after its release. "We have George Lucas’d things also that people don't know about," the siblings told *Variety*, referring to the Star Wars director's much-critiqued [altered re-releases]() of the original franchise. "It's not, like, story, but you're essentially patching in shots." ## Patch Atcha As King points out in *GQ*, there's some historical precedent — outside of George Lucas, that is — for widely-accepted, after-the-fact edits: video games. Games are often released in beta, and developers typically [invite user feedback]() and tweak the gameplay accordingly. Games, however, are inherently different from TV. While they're certainly a form of narrative art, games invite a literal interactive experience between the consumer and the creator. When it comes to TV, film, music, consumers don't *become* them the way that gamers do. Instead, those art forms have historically been packaged as-is. Errors become footnotes, generally speaking, not glitches fixed after beta. But the digital world, it seems, allows for a never-before-seen fluidity in streamed art and entertainment if creators choose to take advantage, whether by their own accord or due to fan discontentment. From TV to Spotify — [looking at you, Kanye]() — perhaps nothing streamed is truly static anymore. It'll surely be interesting to see how the ever-changing technological landscape continues to impact the way art and entertainment is created, delivered and digested, not to mention how the relationships between all those parties starts to change. **READ MORE:** [The Duffer brothers' plans to retroactively edit episodes of *Stranger Things* could be the beginning of a worrying TV trend]() \[*GQ UK*\] **More on Netflix:** *[Onlyfans Taunts Netflix, Says Its Subscriber Numbers Are Just Fine]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()