Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy bluntly responds to Eddie's return chances in the final season, saying it's "highly unlikely" he'll be back.
While details on season 5 remain largely unknown, Stranger Things producer Shawn Levy has a bunt response to questions about Eddie's return in the show. The latest season of Netflix's hit sci-fi horror series saw the town of Hawkins come under attack by Vecna, a powerful being living in the Upside Down with ties to Eleven's past with plans to destroy the world. Stranger Things season 4 also saw Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven struggling to regain her powers and Winona Ryder's Joyce and Brett Gelman's Murray heading to Russia to save David Harbour's Hopper from a gulag filled with Demogorgons.
With Stranger Things season 4 proving to be its largest yet, a number of new characters were introduced to the fold, including Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson. The eccentric leader of the Dungeons & Dragons group the Hellfire Club found himself wrapped up in the latest Upside Down threat when he became the primary suspect in the death of Vecna's first victim and worked with the group to bring him down. Eddie would ultimately meet his demise in the Stranger Things season 4 finale, leaving many heartbroken and others theorizing how he could return, though the latter group may want to stop their efforts.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at this week's Primetime Emmy Awards, Shawn Levy opened up about the possibility of Eddie's return in Stranger Things season 5. The producer had a blunt response to fans' hopes for the character to come back, saying it was "highly unlikely" Eddie would make his way back to the screen in the show's final season. Levy said [Laughs] Oh boy, a lot of people - a lot of people - can't even handle the thought of a Season 5 without some excuse for Eddie presence. Highly unlikely. Highly unlikely. But we hear you, world. We know. You're obsessed with Eddie. So were we.
Heading into the season, many fans were already weary about Eddie's chances making it out alive come the end of Stranger Things season 4. Given the show's trend of killing off fan-favorite supporting characters, going all the way back to season 1's Barb and continuing with season 2's Bob and season 3's Alexei, the odds seemed to be against Eddie as he became the town pariah and had to go into hiding from the Hawkins mob and Vecna. Though he was given an epic Metallica-set sequence in the Stranger Things season 4 finale, his sacrifice to help Gaten Matarazzo's Dustin escape would lead to his death, and many fans' subsequent tears.