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There aren’t many shows with more hype around their final season than Netflix's 1980s retro-fantasy Stranger Things. Season five is coming in 2025 and brings with it huge expectations. How is Netflix looking to handle this? By bringing back one of their most memorable and morally grey characters of all time, Dr. Martin Brenner played by Matthew Modine.

Fans who watched season four of Stranger Things will immediately spot why this is a bit of a head-scratcher – Dr. Brenner (aka "Papa" to Eleven) had come down with a tragic case of “shot by a sniper” during the previous season. His death didn’t leave much room for interpretation as it happened on screen and right in front of Eleven, so the fact Netflix is bringing him back is certainly a big surprise.

We know Modine is back as Papa for Stranger Things season five because of a short video he posted to his Instagram account. In it, he lets out a maniacal laugh as an off-screen makeup artist applies some prosthetics to his face. The character is significantly older than the last time we saw Dr. Brenner, but the fact that Modine added the hashtags “#strangerthings5”, “#drmartinbrenner”, “#papa”, and “#indestructible” don’t leave much room for questions. Papa is back and we’re all wondering how.

The older makeup that Modine is wearing seems to tie into the fan-theory that Stranger Things season five will focus on time travel, with Linda Hamilton – whose role in the final season still hasn’t been disclosed – playing a grownup version of Eleven from the future. That could certainly explain how Dr. Brenner is back – if this is a version of him from a different timeline.

All of this is only increasing our need to see what happens in the final season of Stranger Things. At this point, there are so many unanswered questions (How has Hawkins survived a full year with the Upside Down creeping in? When are Hopper and Eleven going to get their happy ending?) for us to ignore. And yet, in the most cruel twist of fate imaginable, we still don’t know when the final season is coming out. 

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"