Stranger Things star reveals Eddie Munson’s impact on season 5 after devastating death - and Dustin’s “dark” mindset

The Stranger Things fandom may never recover from the death of our beloved Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) and that's set to be reflected in season 5 in a big way.

While the Duffer Brothers have denied that Quinn's anarchist rocker will return in the upcoming final season of the show, star Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson, has revealed his presence will still very much be felt after the pair's unexpected bond last season.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Matarazzo explained: "[Dustin's] priority is to try to feel [Eddie's] presence as much as he can, and spread his presence to those around him, who maybe aren't as perceptive to it considering the complicated history that Eddie leaves with.

"There's no justice really there for him. And something that I think [Dustin] is coming to terms with is the fact that he'll just have to accept that people think the most horrible things about someone he loves so much, and someone he knows was a really good person, and that's really frustrating, and leads him to feel quite resentful."

That will mean we meet a Dustin we're not so used to seeing at the beginning of season 5, with Matarazzo adding: "He's in a pretty dark place. I think everybody is, though, and so he has a bit tunnel vision there, which can cause a bit of a clash, and I think people aren't really listening to him, but he's not necessarily listening to others."

"There's alienation," co-star Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) added, with Matarazzo agreeing: "Yeah, alienation, dissonance, things like that. It's cool to play, definitely a bit more of a challenge, but I had fun."

Last season saw Eddie sacrifice himself, with Quinn telling RadioTimes.com afterwards: "I think there's a great beginning, there's a great middle and a great end for the character.

"And as an actor you want characters with those kinds of arcs. So whilst it would have been great to come back for another season and get together with all those lovely people again, I think it was a brilliantly realised ending for a brilliantly written character."

This season will see the long-awaited final battle for Hawkins, with our heroes having to grapple with the town being under military quarantine and Vecna having strangely disappeared.

But something tells us he won't be gone for too long...

Stranger Things 5 part 1 premieres on Netflix on Wednesday 26th November 2025.

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