The Duffer Brothers insist Joseph Quinn won't be back for the Stranger Things finale

Matt told Empire magazine: "I love that Joe Quinn is toying with people! But no, he's dead."

He also pointed to Quinn's hectic work life, having already appeared in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, along with upcoming roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Sam Mendes' Beatles quadrilogy of films.

Matt added: "Joe is so busy anyway, that everyone should know he's not coming back. He's shot like five movies since!

"When the hell has he got time to come and shoot Stranger Things? No, sadly, RIP. He's fully under that ground."

While Eddie Munson won't be returning to Hawkins or the Upside Down, the brothers did give a hint of what to expect from Linda Hamilton's scientist character Dr. Kay.

Matt teased: "She's hyper-intelligent and intimidating.

"She's a scientist but if she needs to, she can get into a fight and shoot a gun."

Meanwhile, the brothers recently admitted despite a new beginning with Paramount on the horizon, they have been completely focused on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.

Matt told Variety: "I couldn't think about it anymore, because we're just back in working on Stranger Things.

"I've actually stopped thinking about the future entirely."

Ross added: "And we've spent 10 years on this. We're trying to put 100% energy in just making sure we land this plane. So no thought is going elsewhere at the moment."

His brother quipped: "At all. Hopefully Paramount doesn't read this."

There are plans for a Stranger Things spinoff too, and while the Duffers will be "heavily creatively involved", they won't be serving as showrunners with the same level of pressure.

Ross explained: "We'll, hopefully, be writing and directing something new in the meantime, helping shepherd it along."