In 2016, Matt and Ross Duffer, also known as the Duffer brothers (Wayward Pines) with Netflix, introduced the supernatural world of the show Stranger Things. The Duffer brothers have one last season to release to fans through Netflix. The disappearance of Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp (Abe), was one of the major storylines throughout the show’s premiere season. The Duffer brothers recently revealed that Will again will be taking center stage for the fifth and final season of the show. Via Comicbook, “…Will struggled with trying to find his place among his friends and family, with creators of the series Matt and Ross Duffer teasing that the final season of the series will put prominence on Will once again.”
Stranger Things is set in Hawkins Indiana in the year 1983. In season one, a young group of friends investigate the disappearance of their friend Will, and in the process meet a strange girl with psychokinetic abilities named Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes). Together the friends, Dustin, Lucas, and Mike, played by Gaten Matarazzo (Honor Society), Caleb McLaughlin (Shooting Stars), and Finn Wolfhard (It) respectively, alongside Eleven, fight against supernatural forces to save Will. Throughout the following seasons, Will struggles to fit back in with his friends the way he once did. After his supernatural disappearance, Will continued to experience nightmarish visions of the place he was rescued from known as the Upside Down.
Ross Duffer spoke with Variety, and via Comicbook revealed, “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.”
In season four, not only did Will continue to battle mentally and physically with the Upside Down, but with his romantic feelings towards his best friend Mike. Schnapp who is part of the LQBTQIA+ community stated last year, “I can just tell you that I’m very very excited for what’s to come. I think they did a great job with Will’s character this season, and beautifully addressed everything they needed to… The way they closed the show is just perfect — the story started with Will, and it’ll end with Will.”
Due to the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, filming and the release of the final season of Stranger Things is on hold.