Deadline has reported that Co-Stars and besties Noah Schnapp (Abe, Bridge Of Spies) and Millie Bobbie Brown (Enola Holmes, Damsel)  have found yet another connection to bond over during the filming of Stranger Things season five. Both their characters, Will Byers and Eleven, required flashback scenes to season one. As most fans know, both actors have aged quite a bit since the first season premiered in 2016, so both actors had to utilise de-ageing technology in order to look the part.

According to Deadline, fans recently got a sneak peek of the first five minutes of season five, where Schnap’s eleven-year-old face is digitally overlaid onto actor Luke Kokotek (Scared To Death, 115 Grains). In this scene, he takes shelter in the Upside Down’s version of Castle Byers, humming the tune “Should I Stay Or Go” with a rifle in hand. Lola VFX undertook the hair and face placement for the Netflix original.

In season four, we saw Brown’s character, Eleven, undergo the same process to film scenes that stretch even further back into the past, via Deadline.

Schnap shared his thoughts on the experience and spoke of his co-star as a resource. “I asked [Millie] for help, honestly. I was like, ‘How did you work with the kid when you had to do it?’ It was fun to step into those director shoes that we don’t really get the chance to do on the show,” Schnapp said. “And think introspectively and reflectively of how I act and how I did act and move and breathe and turn and look and kind of relay that onto this little kid, who was so cute. It was a fun experience. It’s a little digital-looking. It’s hard to make it look perfect, but it turned out pretty well.” via Deadline.

Brown looked back on her experience with the technology. “I was able to direct her for a couple of episodes. It’s really interesting because it taught me a lot about what I did. I was like, ‘Yeah, how did I, why did I? Okay?’” Brown stated,” I was like, ‘Wow.’ I just screamed and threw out my hand, without any sense of embarrassment. And it’s so interesting. 10 years ago, social media wasn’t a thing. It was not what it is like [now] at all. I posted pictures of my dog, and I had like 25 followers. It’s interesting, the sense of humility you really have to leave at the door.” via Deadline.

Deadline reported that Brown worked with Martie Blair (The Young And The Restless, Safe) to help us understand her past and uncover the origins of a crucial villain in the series.

“I really worked with the little girl I worked with in terms of, ‘It’s okay. Just like, it’s fine.’ We are going to look silly because we aren’t actually moving anything with our minds, but let’s just harness that in a superhero you have together,” Brown said. “And so I sat there behind a wall and screamed with her, threw out my hand behind camera so that she felt like she was with me.” said Brown via Deadline.