WARNING: Spoilers for “Stranger Things” Season 4 below
Matthew Modine is addressing an Instagram video he posted back in November suggesting Dr. Martin Brenner may return in “Stranger Things” Season 5, telling TheWrap he “might be the biggest troll on the Internet.”
Audiences will remember that Brenner died in Season 4 of the Netflix series after being shot and killed by a government official while trying to help Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) escape a top secret research facility in the desert and return to Hawkins. While Brenner has previously escaped death before, the Duffer brothers told the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in 2022 that Brenner is dead “for real this time,” adding, “He’s toast.”
But on Nov. 27, the actor posted a video to Instagram of him sitting in a makeup chair with facial prosthetics laughing maniacally. You can watch Modine’s video, below:
“I might be the biggest troll on the Internet. I just love the ‘Stranger Things’ fans. They are the most passionate people I’ve ever met across the globe. And so in this big gap between Season 4 and Season 5, it’s just fun to play with them. I’m just a troll,” Modine told TheWrap on Wednesday when asked about the video while promoting his latest Netflix project, “Zero Day.”
When asked for further clarification and if there was anything he could tease about Season 5, Modine jokingly replied: “I if I told you, [Netflix would] have to destroy these tapes and maybe take you out.” (Netflix did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.)
“Stranger Things” Season 5 wrapped filming in December and has previously been described as the “biggest and most ambitious season yet.”
While there is still no premiere date for the final installment, it is expected to debut in 2025. Netflix has released titles for all eight episodes and revealed that it takes place in the fall of 1987, primarily in Hawkins.
Created by The Duffer brothers, “Stranger Things” first debuted in July of 2016 and quickly became one of Netflix’s biggest hits. Season 4 alone amassed 140.7 million views globally. Over the course of its run, the drama has been nominated for over 230 awards and has won 70, including 12 Primetime Emmys and a Peabody.
In addition to Brown, the show’s cast in Season 5 includes Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Joey Keery, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Cara Buono, Amybeth McNulty, Charlie Heaton, Brett Gelman, Maya Hawke, Natalia Dyer, Jamie Campbell Bower, Priah Ferguson and Linda Hamilton.
The first four seasons of “Stranger Things” are available to stream on Netflix.
