Stranger Things 5 Actor Teases Their Surprise Return, Despite Their Character's Season 4 Death

One major dead Stranger Things character teased a potential Season 5 return. 

Over the years, Stranger Things has been no stranger to shocking deaths. Whether it was Sean Astin's Bob in Season 2 or Eddie in Season 4 (who recently returns as a part of a special series Dungeons & Dragons tie-in), there have been plenty of big-name character demise throughout the hit Netflix series. 

There have been so many that some have come back from the dead, with David Harbor's Hopper defying the odds and emerging from what many had assumed to be an untimely end to start the show's fourth season. 

The Return of a Major Stranger Things Character Teased

Despite his character being dead in the current Stranger Things timeline, this big-name actor hinted at his return in the upcoming Season 5. 

Martin Brenner star Matthew Modine spoke about his series' big bad coming back for the show's final batch of episodes, though his on-screen scientist remains dead.

Modine told The Associated Press (via Reddit) that he could not "[start] talking about Season 5," seemingly insinuating that he was a part of it in some form:

"We're sitting in here in the world of Netflix right now. If I started talking about Season 5, they'd probably come in here and break my nose. The Duffer Brothers, they've created an incredible world, The Upside Down. And I know they're just desperate to get on with their lives and do other projects and work on things. But the ride that they went on with this thing, it's something that's never existed in the history of the entertainment industry."

He credited the series for its international appeal, comparing it to the success of some of his other projects like Full Metal Jacket or Oppenheimer:

"So, if I made, let's say, 'Full Metal Jacket,' one of my famous films, if it was successful in 30, 40 territories around the world, that'd be unbelievable. That was an unbelievable success. Netflix is in 182, 184– I don't know what the number is. It's up there... territories around the world. So what the kids from 'Stranger Things' to after the night that 'Stranger Things' dropped, the fame and the notoriety that they were exposed to is something that's never existed in the history of the entertainment industry."

While he does not expressly say he will be back for the show's fifth and final season, his tenor suggests that he knows more about Season 5 than someone who was not involved. 

It is also worth noting that the Duffer Brothers' production company, Upside Down Pictures, still follows Modine on Instagram, despite not following any other accounts of actors whose characters have been killed.

One particular fan on Reddit called this out, pointing to "Upside Down Pictures account follows the current Stranger Things main cast, plus Matthew Modine and Randy Havens," and "no actors whose characters have been killed off:"

"I’ve noticed that the Upside Down Pictures account follows the current 'Stranger Things' main cast, plus Matthew Modine and Randy Havens. No actors whose characters have been killed off (or written out like Kali and Argyle) are being followed. No Dacre Montgomery, Joseph Quinn, Shannon Purser, etc. So I feel like it’s safe to guess Modine and Havens are only followed because they’ll both be back for Season 5."

Brenner was notably killed off in a climactic battle with Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven in which she curved the bullet of a sniper attempting to take the super-powered teen out, sending it straight through Mondine's character's head. 

How Could Dr. Brenner Play Into Stranger Things Season 5?

With Matthew Modine's Dr. Martin Brenner definitively dead in the current Stranger Things timeline, it would be confusing for him to suddenly pop up in Season 5 of the hit Netflix series. However, there are some ways he could come back if that is what the Duffer Brothers have planned. 

The most obvious answer would be via flashbacks. Throughout the series, fans have been treated with bits of Eleven's backstory involving Modine's Dr. Brenner and the continued experimentations on her and other gifted children. 

Modine's character returning in one final batch of these flashbacks could make sense, perhaps recounting some of his work before Eleven came into his care. 

There has been a Broadway musical based on Brenner's early goings as a government scientist in the Stranger Things universe, so who is to say that they do not bring some of those over for the incoming Season 5? 

There is also the chance that Dr. Brenner is not dead at all (or not dead in the way fans truly understand it).

One of the reveals in Season 5 could involve the Upside Down having some pergatorial properties, being a place for the souls of the dead to occupy and be harvested by evil creatures like the dastardly Vecna. 

That could be seen in the central cast of Stranger Things kids coming across the body of Modine's character if they were to venture to the Upside Down as they attempt to close the breach between dimensions once and for all. 

Stranger Things Season 5 has no known public release window but is expected sometime this year (read more about the Stranger Things 5 release here).