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**Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things season 4, Volume 2**
Just when we thought we’d finally seen the last of Brenner, it turns out he may have somehow survived... Again. Well at least, that’s what actor Matthew Modine is hoping.
After playing Eleven’s 'Papa' on and off in four seasons of the Netflix fantasy hit, Modine’s character was among those killed off in the latest season. He ran into trouble when the US government descended on his secret facility in search of Eleven. The morally questionable doctor was fatally wounded in the onslaught, dying in the Nevada desert.
However, Modine has now opened up about his fate, admitting he’s not so sure we’ve seen the last of the character. When asked by Vulture if he would say Brenner was dead, Modine replied: "No, I wouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t want him to be dead."
Admittedly, it wouldn’t be the first time his character has survived. Back in season one he was seemingly killed by a Demogorgon, only to return in the latest season. Modine continued: "Three things are curious to me: How did he survive the Demogorgon? 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?"
The idea that Brenner could be supernatural is certainly an interesting one. And Modine added that he really wants to see some redemption for his character in the show. "I don’t want to believe it’s over, because I love the Duffers," the Full Metal Jacket actor said. "I don’t want to believe it’s over, because I can’t wait to work with Millie [Bobby Brown] again."
However, the Duffer Brothers are more resolute about Brenner’s death. When quizzed on if this is the end for Brenner on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Duffer replied: "Yes. For real this time. Definitively he’s dead." Ross Duffer agreed, adding: "He’s toast."
Therefore, if we do see Brenner again in Stranger Things season 5, it’s likely he’ll appear in flashbacks rather than back alive. The final season is in the works currently and is expected to pick up after that dramatic Volume 2 ending.
