This Stranger Things star won’t be back in season 5

Stranger Things season 5 might feature some familiar faces but don’t expect to see this actor popping up in the final season. 

Stranger Things is one of the last real water-cooler TV shows left. By that, we mean that it’s one of the only real shows where it feels like the world stops when a new season comes out because everyone is watching it.

The final season is on the horizon, so we’re all expecting that level of excitement to increase tenfold. No doubt it will feature some nods to the previous four seasons, as The Duffer Brothers plan for a grand finale that will conclude the show on a memorable note.

Final seasons and series finales are notorious for featuring callbacks and even cameos from previous cast members, but don’t be anticipating an appearance from this actor.

Sean Astin on why Bob won’t return in Stranger Things season 5

Sean Astin, who played Bob Newby on Stranger Things season 2, recently appeared at LA Comic-Con, discussing the legendary Lord of the Rings franchise. However, as The Direct reports, he also made some time to discuss his role as Bob, as well as the character’s fate and why he doesn’t think he’ll return in the final season.

“No, I’m dead,” he revealed to be his typical response whenever any fans asked him if he would be making a Stranger Things comeback. And it’s true, because Bob was sadly killed in the penultimate episode of the second season by a bunch of Demodogs whenever he helped Hopper and Joyce escape the Hawkins Lab.

But on television there are always other ways to bring characters back, especially on a show like Stranger Things. This is something that Astin himself actually pitched to the audience at LA Comic-Con, suggesting that The Duffer Brothers bring him back in season 5 via a flashback, jokingly adding that Joyce would be happier with Bob:

"“But why couldn’t they do a flashback [for Season 5]… to a happier time with—I know why they won’t. Because it’s going to be Hopper and Joyce, and they’re not going to want to flashback to a time when she was actually happy [laughs].”"

It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that Astin makes some kind of appearance via a flashback or supernatural cameo, but if you’re hoping for Bob to return to the land of the living, it’s probably best to prepare for the disappointment of that not happening.

What Astin said is true, the show is very much leaning in the direction of having Joyce and Hopper end up together, so there would be no purpose for him making a full-time return to the show as Bob. Moreover, his sacrifice in season 2 carried with it such emotional weight because he loved Joyce, and she had realized over the course of the season how much she loved him. His death forced her to realize that the pair’s dream of a happy ending outside of Hawkins wasn’t going to happen.

Astin is a pop-culture legend, best known for his role as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings franchise, but he has also appeared in The Goonies, Toy Soldiers, 24, Supergirl, and he also voiced Raphael in the 2012 animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so it goes without saying that fans were thrilled he became a part of the Netflix show’s legacy too.

While Stranger Things season 5 will likely feature some surprise cameos and returns, don’t be expecting to see Astin make a comeback as Bob. As beloved a character he was, his arc was wrapped up in one season, meaning that there just isn’t any purpose for Bob to return.