Matthew Modine has a tinfoil hat theory about Papa returning in Stranger Things 5
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Warning: This article contains spoilers from Stranger Things season 4.
Matthew Modine refuses to believe Dr. Martin "Papa" Brenner is dead on Stranger Things. He explained his reasoning, proverbial tin foil hat in place, in a recent interview.
Papa, by all accounts, died in the second volume of the Netflix series' fourth season after being struck by a sniper in his attempt to save Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) from Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus). He even gave us a dramatic final gasp before falling limp on the desert ground.
When asked by Vulture if he would say Brenner is really dead, Modine replied, "No, I wouldn't. Because I wouldn't want him to be dead. Three things are curious to me: How did he survive the Demogorgon [in season 1]? How did he survive One? And when Eleven tries to use her power against Dr. Brenner after blowing three guards in the air, he unflinchingly thwarts her and says, 'You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?' She couldn't get it to work on him. Is there something more to Brenner than meets the eye?"
Netflix Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) are back at it in the 'Stranger Things' season 4 finale episodes.
A super-powered Papa isn't the craziest theory to come out of Stranger Things, though Modine might not want to hold his breath. Speaking to Papa's season 1 encounter with the demogorgon, executive producer Shawn Levy previously told EW not to expect "an overt explanation for that specific occurrence."
Subsequent comments from series creators Matt and Ross Duffer, meanwhile, indicate that Brenner is "definitively" dead. "For real this time," they told Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz. Sorry, Matthew.
"I don't want to believe it's over, because I love the Duffers," Modine continued. "I don't want to believe it's over, because I can't wait to work with Millie again. I say Millie, because I don't really have anything to do with the other cast members — except for Paul Reiser."
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