The Duffer Brothers didn't want to kill off Stranger Things characters for the sake of fans' "bloodlust".

Siblings Matt and Ross Duffer - who created the hit Netflix sci-fi horror series and have served as showrunners for its entirety - have shrugged off criticism over not killing off main characters with the core ensemble all making it to the beginning of the newly released fifth and final season.

The brothers told The Independent newspaper in the UK: "We could kill anyone off at any point very easily - it's not difficult.

"It's more about the repercussions that would have for all of our other characters.

"We just always want to think ahead and not just do it to shock people or because people have a bloodlust, which they seem to have."

That doesn't mean they haven't been tempted, as they almost bumped off David Harbour's character Jim Hopper at the end of season three, with his fate unknown until the show returned for the fourth run.

The Duffers added: "You have those discussions, but I think it was just hard for us to let go of that character."

They also considered killing off Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield, but they wanted to tell her story in a less "mean" way.

They explained: "Max is a good example. It would sort of defeat the purpose of her growth that entire year.

"She goes through all of that to die? She finds the light and then…

"Some of those you talk about and it just feels mean and it goes against what you've been trying to say."

Matt and Ross pointed out that Stranger Things is "a very different type of story" to shows with high death tolls like Game of Thrones, which wasn't afraid of killing off major characters.

The brothers did kill off Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson in season four, but they promised the impact of that will be felt in the upcoming episodes.

They said: "We want to make sure that if someone dies like Eddie, who we killed last season, his death resonates throughout the course of season five."