‘Stranger Things’ Star Maya Hawke Weighs in on the Possibility of Dead Character’s Return

Viewers shouldn’t expect one fan-favorite character to rise from the dead in Stranger Things Season 5. (Warning, spoilers ahead!) In Season 4, Volume 2 of the hit Netflix original series, Eddie Munson, the heavy metal-loving breakout new character, sadly died amid the battle against Vecna, and it seems he won’t be as lucky as some other characters who have survived seemingly unsurvivable fates. In a new interview with NME, actress Maya Hawke, who stars in the series as Robin Buckley, confirmed fans’ worst fears: Eddie is dead, dead.

Addressing those ongoing theories that Eddie may have somehow survived his brutal death, Hawle said that while “totally” sympathizes “with fans who want to see more of him,” she feels as though Stranger Things “can’t keep killing people and bringing them back to life.” Over the course of the past several seasons, there have been numerous fake-out deaths, including Jim Hopper’s in Season 3 and Max Mayfield’s at the end of Season 4, the latter of which earned some pushback as fans had been expecting a high death toll in the penultimate season.

“The same fans would be so annoyed! I would love them to find a way to have Eddie’s ghost in the mix, just because Joe Quinn is such an awesome guy. He’s so much fun to have on set and such a great actor,” Hawke continued, adding that filming Season 5 without Joseph Quinn will be like “losing a weird limb.”

Although Eddie only joined the mix in Season 4, he immediately became a fan-favorite character. Introduced at the start of the season as a repeat Hawkins High School senior and the leader of the Hellfire Club, the official D&D club of the high school, Eddie found himself wrapped up in the terror of the Upside Down following the death of cheerleader Chrissy by Vecna, with many in the town of Hawkins believing Eddie to be the killer. Sadly, Eddie met his untimely demise in the series finale when he went out in a blaze of glory. After teaming with Dustin to create a distraction, he went up against a swarm of Upside Down bats, ultimately dying in Dustin’s arms.

Despite fans watching as Eddie seemingly took his final breaths, in the weeks since Volume 2 came up, numerous theories have arisen suggesting Eddie may have actually survived. One leading theory suggests Eddie will return as Kas, a vampire from the Dungeons & Dragons game and Vecna’s right-hand man who ends up turning against him. Several petitions have also been launched calling on the Duffer Brothers to bring Eddie back, with one such petition surpassing 75,000 signatures.

The return of Eddie isn’t the only thing fans shouldn’t get their hopes up for. The Duffer Brothers have confirmed that Season 5 isn’t set to feature supersized episodes like Season 4 and will instead most likely consist of the normal hour-long episodes. The first four seasons of Stranger Things are streaming on Netflix. Season 5, the final season, does not yet have a premiere date.