Season 5 of Stranger Things is in production, but it seems that one person is missing from the call sheet. It’s all been kicking off as people have discovered that Eduardo Franco, who plays lovable stoner Argyle, will apparently not be appearing in the final season of the hit Netflix show.
Franco first debuted in the series as a friend of Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton) in California, with the two of them often shown to be getting high together, including at the Byers family dinner table, to hilarious effect. Argyle was also instrumental in helping out the gang, particularly Eleven, by utilizing his workplace knowledge of The Surfer Boy Pizza branch.
Many loved Argyle’s introduction on the show, and he quickly became a fan favorite. Those same fans noticed something a little odd when a Stranger Things season 5 cast image was shared by Netflix on social media.
Franco is missing from the shot, which led many to wonder why he was excluded. Whilst talking on the Steve Varley Show, the actor was asked why he wasn’t in the photo and what was happening to his character, to which Franco sadly responded, “I never got a phone call. So I think, yeah, I think that’s it.”
Some see the loss of one of the only Latine actors on the show as problematic, considering how the majority of the cast is white, with a few notable exceptions. Franco was also on the receiving end of mistreatment and abuse during the last season’s red carpet, with people telling him to “get out of the way,” in addition to online attacks. So, for fans to hear that he didn’t even get a call from the show or his management as to his future on Stranger Things is disturbing and, frankly, just plain rude. The least you can do for a cast member that so many of your fans love is to call them, thank them for their work, and inform them that you will be moving on without them.
In the interview, Franco was grateful that he had people looking out for him, saying, “It’s nice to hear that there’s, there’s some sort of, you know, concern or something, you know what I mean?”
Some have pointed out that as the show builds to its grand finale, focusing on the main cast and their journey is more important, and, whilst that is understandable from a storytelling point of view, the show’s dismissal of Franco still leaves a bad taste in our mouths. We are sad to lose you, my dude. You deserved better.
(featured image: Netflix)
