The creators of Stranger Things – Ross and Matt Duffer – are finally addressing the season four hints indicating Will Byers, played by Noah Schapp, might be gay.
Those hints include Will’s intense upset at being ignored by best friend Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) and the conspicuous presentation of Will’s project on mathematician Alan Turing, who was persecuted for his sexuality. He is also shown to be visibly uncomfortable when a female classmate tries to flirt with him.
The Duffer Brothers, who write and produce the Netflix fantasy hit, recently responded to a question about whether Will will have an “official coming out moment” when the series returns with two more episodes in July.
“We have a lot of big character emotional reveals and payoffs in the final two episodes”, said Matt Duffer without going into specifics. “I don’t want to say too much.”
In the 3 June interview with Entertainment Weekly Ross Duffer added: “What we’re excited about in those final two [episodes is] that it’s not just the story coming full circle, but all of this character stuff is going to come to a head because there’s a lot dangling that we’re going to try to resolve in those last four hours.”
Since the new season of Stranger Things dropped last month, Will’s sexuality has been the subject of heavy speculation online, with some fans accusing the series of queer-baiting. Schapp and castmate Millie Bobby Brown have already responded to the growing controversy.
Schnapp said in an interview that the show intentionally “never really address[es] it or blatantly say[s] how Will is”.
“I think that’s the beauty of it,” he said, adding: “That it’s just up to the audience’s interpretation – if it’s Will kind of just refusing to grow up and growing up slower than his friends or if he is really gay.”
Brown, who plays Eleven, continued: “Can I just say, it’s 2022 and we don’t have to label things.”
“I think what’s really nice about Will’s character is that he’s just a human being going through his own personal demons and issues,” she added. “So many kids out there don’t know, and that’s OK. That’s OK to not know. And that’s OK not to label things.”
The final two episodes ofStranger Things season four will premiere 1 July.
