As the fifth and final season of Stranger Things approaches, many have noticed Dustin Henderson’s (Gaten Matarazzo) new look in the trailer and photos released ahead of launch.
Small details in his appearance — like his longer curly hair and rings he now wears as shown when the four main friends huddle up and put their hands in for a cheer — call to mind the late Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn), leader of the Hellfire club and close friend of Dustin’s, who died in Season 4. At the red carpet premiere of Volume 1, Matarazzo noted the shift and how he approached his character this season while speaking to Deadline.
“It’s tough. It’s a challenge that I was excited to take on. It’s not something that I was used to doing,” he said. “I’m used to going in and doing that normal thing explosively with a lot of happy-go-lucky behavior — [that’s] kind of what I’m used to doing in most of the work that I’ve done on the show.”
Eddie’s death was a big blow for Dustin, known for his big smile, outspokenness and open theorizing (which is often spot-on). Matarazzo kept the grieving process in mind as he entered the role of the party’s Bard one last time.
“That was exciting to see a new shift, and I think it was inevitable,” he added. “I don’t think that somebody can suffer a loss like that that intensely and that violently at that age and not be severely affected by it. So seeing him go through the process of the way he grieves has been interesting and tough.”
L-R: Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson and Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5
Courtesy of Netflix
The actor also expressed fondness for working with Joe Keery to return the Dustin and Steve dynamic to the screen, knowing viewers have “latched onto” a specific shot from the trailer of the two friends hugging.
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