Stranger Things Season 5 has been filming since early January, which means the cast knows where things are going, even if they can’t speak freely on it. The same apparently goes for former star Joseph Quinn, who was asked straight-up about a Season 5 return during a fan-con. And holy puppetmaster, the future Fantastic Four star’s attempt at a poker face may actually justify all the fan hopes that have gone into those “Eddie Munson might not be dead” theories.
In February, Quinn was revealed to be portraying Johnny Storm for the MCU’s first Fantastic Four movie, a role he possibly never could have imagined landing without the burst of popularity he earned with his work on Stranger Things Season 4. He was able to talk about this earliest phase of becoming a Marvel hero during the FACTS Con in Belgium, where he was also asked if he was “coming back” for the Netflix hit’s next season. He obviously can’t answer it straightforwardly, but it’s not even his words but his approach to answering that seems to say it all.
Quinn’s smile alone goes through four or five different phases in the midst of that answer, seemingly with the wheels inside his head spinning rapidly to try and produce an answer that doesn’t spoil anything, and also doesn’t deflate all the cheers and positive energy that followed the question being asked. Not the easiest path to maneuver.
That pretty massive grin won’t go away either, even though he looks as if he tries a time or two to tamp it down. Quinn even starts cracking up during his first attempt to answer, which amounts to this vague response:
I do know. But I'm not telling you. [Snide chuckle.] Good question.
Even though it certainly seemed like Eddie bit the big one with his self-sacrifice in Season 4, the character’s instant popularity sparked immediate hopes that his actions in the Upside-Down weren’t what they seemed. Those hopes were potentially strengthened by the notion that the season’s events could have ended as they did even without Eddie’s suicide-by-demo-bats. And I'm not the only one who thinks Joseph Quinn's on-the-spot reaction was telling, as quite a few commenters also read things similarly.
Because why would Quinn have any reason to bait fans with teases about Stranger Things Season 5 if he 100% wasn't involved at all? He should be able to just point to Eddie's on-screen death while waving any returning notions away and calling for the next question. That wouldn't even involve any outright lying, and definitely wouldn't involve
But even lying might have been better than trying to play it sly, because this is definitely going to bolster excitement for Eddie's return, and that may sour and turn to rioting if he stays absent.
You can bet that Kevin Feige and other Marvel bigwigs have been paying close attention to all of Joseph Quinn's press opps to gauge how closely he'll need to be watched over when it comes to keeping Fantastic Four secrets close to the vest. And if this poker face is any indication of how he'll field questions about Doctor Doom and MCU crossover connections, those execs may turn his Johnny Storm preperation joke into a reality.
Even if he doesn't return, Eddie's joyous Season 4 stint can always be rewatched with a Netflix subscription during the still-lengthy wait for Season 5 to arrive, which is presumably coming after the 2024 TV schedule is done.
