There are few more beloved stars in Netflix’s hit television series Stranger Things than Gaten Matarazzo.

Steve (Joe Keery) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) walking together in Stranger Things
Credit: Netflix

Gaten Matarazzo, widely recognized for his portrayal of Dustin in Stranger Things, is stepping into the Star Wars universe in an exciting new way with his character Sig Greebling in LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy.

This project stands out by offering a fresh and humorous twist on the Star Wars saga, allowing fans to experience the galaxy far, far away from a new perspective.

Star Wars has been a cultural mainstay for decades, with its stories of epic battles between the Rebellion and the Empire, the legendary Jedi Order, and the rise and fall of iconic characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

The franchise has expanded into multiple trilogies, spin-offs, and animated series, evolving into a massive universe of lore that’s touched fans of all generations. But Rebuild the Galaxy brings something new to the table with Sig Greebling—a character who isn’t just living in the Star Wars galaxy, but is also a fan of it.

Luke Skywalker screaming at Darth Vader's revelation in 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back'
Credit: Lucasfilm

In an exclusive interview with The Direct, Matarazzo described Sig as having “the one arc I haven’t seen in Star Wars,” a character who loves and is obsessed with the galaxy’s lore. He shared:

“The one arc I haven’t seen in Star Wars, character-wise, is a Star Wars fan because it would just be ungodly meta for them to try to do that. And they did.” 

Matarazzo went on to explain the unique place Sig occupies in the Star Wars galaxy:

“We’ve reached a point in the Star Wars universe where the stories of the First Order, The Empire, The Rebellion, the Jedi, they’re all of legend, pretty much almost like religious or something like that… So it gives the writers an opportunity to have somebody who is extensively obsessed with the universe of Star Wars while also living in the galaxy. And it is a genius concept.”

Dustin Henderson (Gaten Matarazzo) sitting on his bed in Stranger Things
Credit: Netflix

For Matarazzo, playing Sig wasn’t much of a stretch, as he himself is a huge Star Wars fan.

“So I was like, this is already me,” he said. “The amount of times I go into deep dives in group settings of Star Wars, and most people just like nodding their heads trying to deal with it. I’m like, I do this maybe once a month, so it wasn’t much of a stretch, and it just seemed like the assignment was just to have fun.”

This role is particularly special to Matarazzo, who admitted that Star Wars has been a cornerstone of his love for cinema.

“It’s the reason that I developed a love for cinema as a whole. It was my first actual obsession in life,” he revealed. “I think it was the first thing that I sunk my teeth into and just really started to become a whole personality. I remember that for about a month when I was seven, I would just walk around school with a Padawan braid, and I’ve got a drunken tattoo. It’s a real cornerstone of my love for art [and] anything that has to do with being a nerd as a whole.”

Rebuild the Galaxy also stands out by taking a playful approach to the concept of the multiverse, which has become a dominant theme in modern storytelling, particularly in franchises like Marvel and DC. Matarazzo admitted that, while he initially found the multiverse idea fun, it has since become “incredibly exhausting.”

“When you have like an extensive, like multi-universe concept, when things happen, like characters die, or there’s influential moments that are irreversible, all of a sudden, you have the option of going into infinite numbers of universes to kind of backtrack and erase all the progress you’ve made, in case it didn’t age well with you.”

What sets Rebuild the Galaxy apart, though, is its satirical take on the multiverse concept.

“What’s fun about this show specifically is that it’s borderline making fun of the multiverse and kind of going fully into the deep end of, like, at least what I like to look at it as is when I read it, it feels to me like a satire of multiverse TV… It’s just us poking the Lucasfilm bear and seeing what we can get away with.”

Jar Jar Binks smiling
Credit: Lucasfilm

One of the most charming aspects of Sig’s character is his relationship with his droid companion, Servo, a Gonk droid who Matarazzo compared to a “really old dog.” He described the droid as having plenty of “inconveniences,” but being lovable all the same.

“Servo rocks because Servo is like when you have a really old dog, and you love him so much, and you’ve had him for years, but like, he smells, he doesn’t really get up there easily anymore. Sometimes he poops before he goes outside, but he’s like, the man.”

Matarazzo also shared that, while recording the series, he often improvised Star Wars references and jokes, which felt natural given his extensive knowledge of the franchise.

“I was always really ready to riff on it,” he said. “There were always little references, especially dialog references. There were so many high-ground jokes and so many ‘Do its.’ The amount of times I said, ‘Do it’ in that booth to see if it would make it in the cut. I think one of them may have.”

Looking ahead, Matarazzo expressed a desire to originate a role, especially in the theater world. He shared how his experience building Dustin in Stranger Things helped him understand the process of developing a character from the ground up, but he’s eager to take on a similar challenge for the stage.

“I’d love to be a part of the process,” he said. “I think workshop a play, see it be written, have a role in mind, and build a character over the course of a good amount of time before people actually see it.”

Stranger Things Season 5 is set to be released in 2025. Matarazzo will play the role of Dustin Henderson one last time as the Duffer Brothers put an end to the beloved series.

The post Disney Snags ‘Stranger Things’ Star From Series, “Reboots” ‘Star Wars’ appeared first on Inside the Magic.

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