Eddie Munson Won’t Return in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 Confirms Duffer Brothers
Actor Joseph Quinn was just teasing us all along…
STRANGER THINGS. (L to R) Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson and Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
It’s finally ruled out – Joseph Quinn won’t be returning as Eddie Muson, who heroically died in the closing episodes of season 4.
The definitive news of his exclusion from season 5 comes as part of a multi-part article release from Empire Online, which has scored exclusive access to the Duffer Brothers for their special edition magazine. Released this morning, the Duffers finally confirmed that Joseph Quinn won’t be returning.
“I love that Joe Quinn is toying with people! But no, he’s dead,” Matt Duffer told the outlet, “Joe is so busy anyway, that everyone should know he’s not coming back. He’s shot like five movies since! When the hell has he got time to come and shoot Stranger Things? No, sadly, RIP. He’s fully under that ground.”
Empire does refer to the fact that there have been plenty of rumors that he will be back in some form, and most of those rumors were, as the Duffers said, sparked by Quinn himself.
As we covered in late July 2025, Joseph Quinn hinted or was purposely vague on various red carpets throughout the year about his potential return. At the red carpet for Fantastic Four, Quinn said, “Oh my god, yeah, I mean, it’s going to be out soon, isn’t it? Who knows?” with the actor adding, “There’s always a chance for anything, isn’t there, really? Nothing’s impossible.”
The fire was stoked when we, along with many fans, noticed that the date had also been added to the actor’s Spotlight profile, listing the show for 2024. That date sparked theories because he originally filmed his role in 2022 for the 2023 release of Stranger Things season 4…
So it looks like the closest we’ll get to an Eddie Munson return will be in the form of the clip we got of the trailer with Dustin visiting his grave… RIP Eddie Munson.
Picture Credit: Netflix
It’s been a busy few weeks for Stranger Things news as the Duffers and the cast featured in several cover stories over the past week, previewing what’s to come in season 5. We did a big recap at the end of the week, looking into all the major revelations for what’s to come.
Stranger Things returns for its long-awaited fifth and final season this winter, rolling out in three distinct chapters. The first four episodes will premiere globally on November 26th or 27th (depending on your timezone), followed by episodes five through seven on Christmas Day, just in time for the holidays. The epic finale, episode eight, will arrive on New Year’s Eve/Day 2026, bringing the Hawkins saga to a dramatic close as fans ring in the new year with one last trip to the Upside Down.