Stranger Things Co-Creator Teases a Bigger Role for Will in Season 5

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Stranger Things Co-Creator Teases a Bigger Role for Will in Season 5

Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer says Will Byers will be taking “center stage” in the fifth season of the Netflix series.

Speaking with Variety, Ross Duffer said the final season of Stranger Things will give Will Byers, who is played by Noah Schnapp, an important role that will tie the entire show together.

“Will really takes center stage again in 5,” Duffer said. “This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality — it’s Will coming into his own as a young man.”

Will Byers, Stranger Things, and the Upside Down

The first season of Stranger Things, created by Matt and Ross Duffer, saw Will abducted by a monstrous creature that trapped him in a dangerous dimension known as the Upside Down. Will is eventually saved by his friends and returns back home to his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder) and older brother, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), while further seasons dive into the character’s connection to the Upside Down. Schnapp also confirmed in July 2022 that Will Byers is gay.

“I think the way I act in Season 5, honestly, might be a little different,” Schnapp elaborated. “I will be fully aware of who I am. Knowing all of that about myself and being able to invest that in my character, I’m honestly just excited.”

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things does not yet have a release date, as production has been suspended due to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes lobbying for fair pay, protection against A.I., and more.

The first four seasons of Stranger Things are currently streaming on Netflix.