Stranger Things almost lost one of its most iconic characters over casting struggles

Can you imagine Stranger Things without the iconic, legendary, and fan-favorite character Eddie Munson? Well, that was almost the reality.

Matt and Ross Duffer recently revealed to TIME that they almost had to rewrite Eddie Munson because they simply couldn't find anyone to play the character the way they wanted.

"There was a version of Eddie that was annoying and grating and wasn't going to work," Matt Duffer revealed. "We needed to find someone with a lot of charisma. It was the hardest casting, maybe, we've ever done in the show, was finding Eddie. And, for a while, we didn't think we were going to be able to find him, and then we saw [Joseph] Quinn's tape."

Then, they found the man, the myth, the legend Joseph Quinn, who brought Eddie to life in a way that no one else in the world could. The rest is history. Eddie captivated audiences around the world and stole the hearts of millions.

"It was very clear to us very early on that we had something special with Joe," he continued.

While I'm sure that Eddie would have resonated with viewers either way, the Duffer brothers were also able to see Quinn in action as Eddie before they were able to re-craft his story during the work stoppage for COVID-19.

"We were only filming for a few weeks, and then the pandemic hit," Ross Duffer said. "It allowed us to go back, after seeing the kind of energy that Joe brought to it, and continue to work on that character."

It's easy to see why the Duffers were worried they couldn't find someone to play Eddie in the way they wanted. It shows, in my opinion, just how amazing of a performer Quinn is and how much he just owned that role. I truly don't think there are many people out there who could have played Eddie the way that he did.

And, I don't think Stranger Things 4 works as well without that character. Eddie is the bridge in a lot of ways to the rest of the story. He's the reason that Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and others are able to connect the dots and solve this mystery.

And, that's just in terms of the actual plot. Eddie is so much more important to the emotional aspects of this story. His arc is beautiful. How he changes from this pariah of sorts to a hero is epic. How the other characters feel his loss, Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) in particular, is what makes Eddie's journey so worth it from the beginning.

My only qualm is that we didn't get to meet him early enough in the series! I'm sure the Duffer brothers would agree that there were many more Eddie stories and moments to share.

I can't imagine Stranger Things 4 without Eddie, and I'm lucky we don't have to. I have no doubt that we will feel his presence in Stranger Things 5, though!

Watch Stranger Things 5 on Netflix starting on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 8 p.m. ET!