Stranger Things: Is Will Byers Gay?
"Stranger Things" to Address Will's Sexuality in the Final Episodes
When the first volume of "Stranger Things" season four hit Netflix on May 28, fans had some major questions about what was going on with Will Byers (Noah Schnapp). When Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard) comes out west to visit Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and Will, it seems to some like Will is harboring a major crush on his friend. Will being gay is something the show has hinted at for years. Way back in season one, Joyce (Winona Ryder) tells Hopper (David Harbour) that Will's dad used to call him "queer."
But some fans were upset that the show seemed to be content to keep Will's sexuality ambiguous, instead of letting the character come out fully. Now, the "Stranger Things" creators, the Duffer Brothers, are speaking out about the plot line.
"You're supposed to be asking those questions," Matt Duffer told TVLine about fan speculation.
But the brothers didn't want to confirm if Will is gay or not. "This is where it gets tricky since we haven't released the whole season yet," Matt said. "I just want people to watch the final two episodes," but according to TVLine, he promised clarity would come in them.
"We have story arcs and we have character arcs," Ross Duffer said. "How we structured [the season], we've released the first two acts of this story. The final act, which is the last two episodes, resolves a lot of things, both character and story, and then some of it is also setting up for our final season."
For his part, Schnapp had his own answer when asked about the subject. He told Variety of the Duffer Brothers' scripts, "I feel like they never really address it or blatantly say how Will is."
He continued, "I think that's the beauty of it, 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 added, "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. 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."
Schnapp said, "I find that people do reach to put a label on him and just want to know, so badly, like, 'Oh, and this is it.' He's just confused and growing up. And that's what it is to be a kid."
Fans will have to wait until the final two episodes of "Stranger Things" season four are released on July 1 to see what happens.
