Of all the fan-favorite characters to perish on “Stranger Things,” Eddie Munson is still Gaten Matarazzo’s favorite.
The “Stranger Things” star made this point abundantly clear during Wednesday’s appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” when he noted that the character, played by Joseph Quinn, would be the one he’d bring back to life — if he had a say.
“The Duffer Brothers, who are geniuses, they confirmed that Eddie Munson will not be returning this season,” host Jimmy Fallon said to Matarazzo. “I was curious if there was anyone from the Upside-Down that you’d want to bring back, who would it be.”
Fallon then presented Matarazzo with a number of beloved options in a bracket-style game, first putting Quinn’s Munson up against Dacre Montgomery’s Billy.
“Oh, Eddie. Hands down,” Matarazzo quickly replied. “Also, Billy, like, assaulted my friends. People forget that. I’m just saying. Even before [the possession]. Season 2. He wasn’t the best.”
He went on to defend Munson, noting, “This dude rocks.”
However, later on in the game, Matarazzo tackled a more challenging face-off between Mews the Cat and Dart the Demodog — both one time pets of his character, Dustin Henderson.
“This one is the first one that I find to be quite hard,” he added. “And I know that’s controversial, because that got that one. Spoilers. But, I’m gonna go with Mews because I’m a cat dad myself.”
After matching up the final four options — which included Mews, Quinn’s Munson, Grace Van Dien’s Chrissy Cunningham and Shannon Purser’s Barbara Holland — Matarazzo said his season 4 mentor would be the one he would save.
Watch his full “Tonight Show” appearance below.
Matarazzo’s comment comes after Matt Duffer told Empire Magazine that Quinn was “not coming back” for Season 5.
“Joe is so busy anyway, that everyone should know he’s not coming back,” the co-showrunner said. “He’s shot like five movies since! When the hell has he got time to come and shoot ‘Stranger Things?’”
“Stranger Things” Season 5 Vol. 1 premieres Nov. 26, with Vol. 2 dropping on Dec. 25. The series finale will air on Dec. 31. “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
