Matthew Modine cannot come to terms with his Stranger Things character’s send-off in season 4 and thinks he could return in the future. Modine plays one of the antagonists, Dr. Martin Brenner, aka Papa, in Stranger Things. Dr. Brenner worked for the U.S. government and helped raise several children with psychokinetic abilities, including Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven. Dr. Brenner seemingly perished at the hands of a Demogorgon in Stranger Things season one but made a surprise return in the recently concluded season four.
However, Modine’s return as Dr. Brenner was short-lived as his character turned out to be one of the many casualties of season 4, and he appears to have died for real this time, although there’s still no confirmation on that. Brenner sacrificed himself while trying to save Eleven from sniper fire and was left bleeding out in the desert. In a recent interview with Vulture, Modine was asked to confirm Brenner’s fate, to which the Full Metal Jacket actor replied:
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Dr. Brenner has overpowered Eleven and other gifted children on numerous occasions. That can be attributed to the psychological hold he has on the children who think of him as their father, or it could be a plot hole, but Brenner’s actions have defied reason sometimes. Modine believes Brenner could himself possess supernatural abilities, or perhaps he’s immune to them. While that seems a bit too far-fetched, at this point, anything can happen in Stranger Things.
“No, I wouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t want him to be dead. 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?”
Matthew Modine Wants Redemption For Dr. Brenner In Stranger Things 5
Matthew Modine didn’t interact much with the other Stranger Things cast members, but he enjoyed working with The Duffer Brothers, Brown, and Paul Reiser, and would love to return for “redepmption.” And Modine has a few ideas as to how a character like Dr. Brenner can redeem himself, which doesn’t involve an easy death.
Modine added:
“Obviously, the only children he tortured who are alive, that we know of, are Eleven and Kali. I guess Vecna, if there’s any saving One. It would be that moment of them forgiving Brenner and giving him their grace.”
Atoning for his sins and living out the rest of his life thinking about the cruelty he subjected the children to could be a good ending for Brenner. But considering that Stranger Things season 5 will be shorter, it seems unlikely that Brenner will feature again in the show. For now, we’ll have to assume Modine’s Stranger Things run has come to an end. Those wanting to see more of Modine’s acting talents can check him out in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, releasing next summer.
“And the horror of what Brenner did is accepting and understanding his culpability in the death of all those children because of what One did. So if Eleven and Kali, or just Eleven, forgave him and sent him off, he would spend the remaining days of his life knowing he had been forgiven but having to accept responsibility for what he did.”
As for the future of Stranger Things, the upcoming season 5 will be the final one and conclude the Hawkins storyline. It doesn’t have a release date yet, but the Duffer brothers have revealed that they’ll open the writers room next month.
