Joseph Quinn Returning For Stranger Things Season 5?
A fan theory called the "Kas Theory" suggests that Joseph Quinn's Eddie might be resurrected in Stranger Things Season 5.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you know that the breakout star of Stranger Things Season 4 was a character named Eddie Munson. Munson, played by British actor Joseph Quinn quickly became a fan-favorite character making his *spoilers* death at the end of the season even more tragic. Now Collider reports that there could be a chance that Eddie will be resurrected for Season 5 thanks to something D&D related known as the “Kas Theory.”
The “Kas Theory” comes from (where else) Reddit and posits that Eddie Munson has a lot in common with a character from Dungeons & Dragons lore named Kas. Kas, much like Joseph Quinn’s Eddie, met his end at the hands…er…wings and teeth of a swarm of bat-like creatures. The only difference (so far) is that Kas gets turned into a vampire after the encounter, a fate fans are hoping the Duffer Brothers have in store for the beloved Munson as well.
The theory doesn’t assume that Joseph Quinn will return next season as a literal blood-sucker but instead whatever the Upside Down’s equivalent would be. In D&D lore, Kas goes head-to-head with Vecna and ends up destroying the Freddy Krueger wannabe in battle. Could the Duffers have introduced Munson specifically for the purpose of becoming an undead warrior capable of taking down the Hawkins version of Vecna? To paraphrase the Magic 8-Ball, “All signs point to yes.”
It’s not just the death-by-bat that Munson has in common with Kas. Apparently, the spikey shield Joseph Quinn’s character constructs out of a garbage can lid and nails resembles a similar spikey weapon wielded by Kas. Fans also claim that Eddie playing “Master of Puppets” to lure the demobats symbolizes Kas being Vecna’s puppet.
In addition to the above clues, Munson is also an avowed Iron Maiden fan–a band that has an undead character named Eddie as a mascot. Some fans think that’s the Duffer Brothers’ way of hinting that Joseph Quinn will play some kind of revenant in Season 5.
Of course, not all the parts of the “Kas Theory” are as believable as others. One part of the theory states that Eddie making devil horns with his fingers in what’s become one of Joseph Quinn’s most iconic images matches the horns on Kas’s helmet. Given that Eddie named his D&D group The Hellfire Club and that Season 4 explored the satanic panic phenomenon of the ’80s, claiming that a character making devil horns is symbolic of anything other than, well, devil horns is a bit of a stretch. It’s one step away from, “Kas had two eyeballs, and Eddie had two eyeballs, Eddie = Kas confirmed!”
The “Kas Theory” is pretty solid for the most part, though. Stranger Things has always taken a lot of influence from Dungeons & Dragons, from the Demogorgon to the Mind Flayer and, most recently, Vecna. If ever there was a place to look for clues as to whether Eddie Munson will return in Season 5, the Wizards of the Coast-owned TTRPG is it.
Unfortunately, fans will have to wait until the fifth and final season of Stranger Things drops on Netflix to find out if Joseph Quinn makes a return or not. In the meantime, there’s always that “Chrissy Wake Up” song to listen to.
