“They Never Called Me”: One of the Most Beloved Characters from ‘Stranger Things’ Won’t Return for the Fifth Season of the Netflix Series

Filming for the final season has begun, but it seems one of the actors has been left out.

The historic Hollywood strike caused a significant delay in starting the production of ‘Stranger Things 5,’ making the wait feel endless since we said goodbye to the fourth season of one of Netflix’s most-watched series in July 2022.

In addition to securing a pay raise and promises to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence, the end of the Hollywood strike also meant that many productions, which had been halted while waiting for a satisfactory agreement for the actors, could finally resume work.

One of the beneficiaries of this was the final season of the Netflix series, and at last, we will learn more than just the description of the first scene of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5. The official announcement of the start of filming was made by the show’s profile on ‘X,’ with an image of the entire cast that will bid farewell to the most-watched English-language series on Netflix.

If we zoom in on the image, we can see Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Joe Kerry, and Gaten Matarazzo, among others. The incredible theory about Eddie Munson, which could change everything in ‘Stranger Things 5,’ is just a sample of the fans’ affection for certain characters who, if they weren’t part of the original cast back in 2016, don’t usually have much screen time, with the notable exceptions of Max (Sadie Sink) and Robin (Maya Hawke).

However, in that photo, there is a significant absence — Eduardo Franco, who played the likable Argyle in ‘Stranger Things 4.’ His presence, with his signature flowing black hair, served as comic relief due to his extremely laid-back personality. Jonathan Byers’ (Charlie Ross Heaton) best friend won over fans of the series thanks to his overwhelming passion for marijuana during their adventures in the quirky Surfer Boy Pizza van.

In an interview with Steve Varley, Franco confessed that he won’t be participating in ‘Stranger Things 5,’ something fans had assumed, especially since his character wasn’t one of Vecna’s victims and is still alive. He explained: “They never called me, so I guess that’s it.”

It seems that, being the final season with multiple storylines to wrap up, the Duffer brothers may have decided to cut back on some of the more secondary characters to give the main ones the development they deserve. Or perhaps, he could have a surprise appearance in one of the final episodes of the series. Anything is possible in Hawkins.