Stranger Things season five may still be on the horizon, but it seems that some cast tensions are already making headlines.
Winona Ryder, known for her role as Joyce Byers—the worried mother whose son disappears into the upside down in the first season—has been discussing her experiences with her younger co-stars while promoting her latest project, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Ryder’s recent work has seen her acting alongside young talents, including Jenna Ortega in the new Tim Burton film and the youthful cast of Stranger Things, many of whom started the show at the age of 12.
During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Ryder expressed her frustration with the younger generation’s lack of interest in the history of film, which some interpreted as a comment directed at Millie Bobby Brown.
Millie Bobby Brown, who portrays Eleven and has been a part of the Stranger Things ensemble since she was 12, is now 20 years old.
Ryder mentioned her irritation, saying: “The first thing they say is, ‘How long is it?’… I just think there was such an abundance: the history of film, the history of photography, it’s so rich, and there’s so much there, and I don’t mean we should go backwards, but I wish and I hope that the younger generation will study that”.
Although Ryder did not name any specific co-star, many have linked her comments to a previous interview with Millie Bobby Brown that went viral on Twitter.
In that interview with The Sun, Bobby Brown stated: “I don’t watch movies. People come up to me and say, ‘You should definitely watch this movie, it would change your life’”.
“And I’m like, ‘How long do I have to sit there for?’ Because my brain and I don’t even like sitting for my own movies”.
Interestingly, Bobby Brown mentioned that her fiancé, Jake Bongiovi, is an avid movie watcher.
She explained:
“My fiancé is the biggest movie buff. He just sits and watches movies all day. And I cannot do that.
“That is the one thing I can’t sit down and do.
“But I really love Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, I love Mad Max. So I feel like I’m always channelling that inner bad-ass.”
While Ryder’s comments have been seen as a possible critique of Bobby Brown, one young co-star she definitely wasn’t referring to is Jenna Ortega.
Ryder and Ortega met while filming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Ryder expressed her emotional reaction when Ortega referenced shots from Mikhail Kalatozov’s 1964 film I Am Cuba during an early scene in their new film.
We have reached out to representatives for Millie Bobby Brown and Winona Ryder for their comments.