Stranger Things star Paul Reiser opens up about whether he would return in season 5 following Dr. Sam Owens' ambiguous fate at the end of season 4. Reiser has portrayed the scientist in the Netflix series since 2017. Stranger Things season 5 is currently in development following the release of season 4 in May and July 2022.
Making his debut in season 2, Dr. Sam Owens was Dr. Brenner's (Matthew Modine) replacement as the head of Hawkins Lab following the events of season 1. Overseeing the development of the larger Mothergate and the condition of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) following his exposure to the Upside Down, Owens helped Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Jim Hopper (David Harbour), and the rest of the crew shut down the gate, becoming an ally to the group by helping hide Eleven and bringing the military to shut down the Soviet Union's operations in Hawkins. Through the use of the Nina Project, Owens and Brenner help Eleven reestablish control over her telekinetic powers throughout season 4 in hopes of defeating Vecna, all the while being pursued by Lt. Col. Jack Sullivan (Sherman Augustus) and the US army.
While Sullivan and the army eventually caught up to the Hawkins Lab's scientists, Owens' fate was left open, and Reiser now opens up about his character's fate. In an interview with E! Online, the actor is asked whether he would be returning as Dr. Owens in Stranger Things season 5. The actor offers an honest response, stating that he didn't know whether he would be returning in season 5. Reiser even jokes that he had responded to the Stranger Things writers' Twitter account and asked whether Owens survived season 4's events. Check out his full response below:
I literally don't know. The Stranger Things writers' room tweeted out, 'Hey, everybody, send us your thoughts for next season. What would you like to see?' And I wrote in, 'Can Dr. Owens live? Would that be possible?'
While the Duffer Brothers addressed Brenner's fate previously by confirming that the scientist was killed by sniper fire when carrying Eleven in season 4, Owens' final scenes in the latest season left things open-ended for Reiser's character. After being temporarily imprisoned by Brenner, Owens is discovered by Sullivan and his soldiers within the Nina project bunker, where he pleads for the Lt. Col. to work alongside him in teaching Eleven to defeat Vecna. While Sullivan refuses Owens' offer and the doctor warns him that he had doomed them all, his fate is unaddressed, as the character isn't seen for the rest of the season. With Owens being one of the few remaining individuals with knowledge of Hawkins Lab's experiments and the Upside Down, it can be assumed that Sullivan and the US Army are keeping him in custody as they face the threat of the newly opened gigantic gate in Hawkins.
While certain fan-favorite characters' fates are sealed and many of Stranger Things' most discussed long-running mysteries have been answered, season 4 still left audiences with questions that season 5 will have to answer. Owens' whereabouts are one such question, as while Sullivan and the US Army's attack left few survivors and even depicted the on-screen death of a key character in Brenner, the series avoided showing what happened to Owens following his and the Lt. Col.'s final conversation. With the threat of the Upside Down being greater than ever and Reiser being open to returning, Owens' expertise may play a pivotal role in the Netflix series' conclusion.
Source: E! Online