Gaten Matarazzo revealed that his character, Dustin, will be dealing with some heavy grief when Stranger Things Season 5 rolls around.
Dustin's time in Season 4 didn't go very smoothly. While he made a new best friend in Joseph Quinn's Eddie, sadly, his new bestie sacrificed himself to the Demobats in the Upside Down to help save the day.
There wasn't much time for the end of Season 4 to explore how that affected Dustin, but it seems like it will be integral to the character's journey in the show's final season.
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Dustin Will Be Dealing With Tragic Grief in Stranger Things Season 5
In an exclusive interview with The Direct's Russ Milheim, while promoting his new series LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, Gaten Matarazzo was able to briefly tease Dustin's journey in Stranger Things' upcoming Season 5.
The actor confirmed that while Dustin will "still [be] the guy we know and love," he will be dealing "with intense grief at a young age:"
"... He's still the guy we know and love, but there is a context of that trauma and that weight of loss that seems to carry on with him through the early process of the season, and hopefully, that's something that people like to see, see him grow through that arc, and see him start to deal with intense grief at a young age."
Matarazzo shared how he feels "a lot of people" will "really resonate with and understand that confusion:"
"I think a lot of people, myself included, can really resonate with and understand what that confusion and that rage can feel like. Because it is an enraging thing to deal with. So, I'm stoked for people to see that."
The actor shared that the new seasons will be "a different vibe," in a sense, particularly due to how "Hawkins is in real disarray:"
".... I think it's a different vibe, for sure, because obviously, things are a lot different going into this season, comparatively to past ones. Whereas in the last season, in Season 4, we kind of see there are small victories around in the sense that, it seems like Vecna has been subdued... But also, there's a big, major loss where we see the rifts open in throughout Hawkins. We see, at the end of Season 4, Hawkins is in real disarray. And so we're starting this season in the aftermath of that."
What Fans Should Expect From Stranger Things Season 5
From the sound of it, audiences could be in for a very different Dustin the next time he appears onscreen. Though, it's hard to blame him––after what he's been through, most would be pretty broken themselves.
Many fans have been vocal about wanting Stranger Things to somehow bring back Joseph Quinn back for the final season despite his fate in Season 4. While it seems unlikely, with Vecna still active, anything could happen.
In April earlier this year, Quinn cryptically teased that he knows if he's coming back, but he playfully refused to reveal the answer.
Perhaps the fallout of what happened to Eddie could be utilized to further flesh out and evolve the relationship between Dustin and Joe Keery's Steve (who fans have gotten a brief glimpse of his Season 5 pre-vis), another fan-favorite duo from the show. They kind of took a back seat in Season 4, thanks to Joseph Quinn's newbie, but with the final season, maybe it's time to give them the spotlight again.
Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix.
