With Volume 2 of Stranger Things season 4 officially available to stream on Netflix, fans are buzzing about all the new twists, turns and plot points in Hawkins, Indiana. However, there’s one theory carrying over from season 3 that audiences are still curious about: Is Will Byers gay? Keep reading to learn more about the character’s sexuality, including what the Stranger Things cast and writers have to say.
Why do fans think Will Byers is gay?
During season 3 of Stranger Things, Will, played by actor Noah Schnapp, and his best friend Mike Wheeler, played by actor Finn Wolfhard, get into an argument, wherein Mike screams, “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”
According to Stranger Things executive producer, Shawn Levy, however, Mike’s words weren’t necessarily about Will’s sexuality. “It’s not specific to sexual orientation or anything,” Shawn explained during a May 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly. “Ever since then, a lot of these questions have come up.”
Come season 4, not only do fans suspect that Will is gay, but they also believe that he has romantic feelings toward Mike. During episode 5, the BFFs have an emotional conversation about expressing themselves. “Sometimes I think it’s just scary to open up like that, to say how you really feel, especially to people you care about the most,” Will tells Mike. “Because what if they don’t like the truth?”
Ultimately, Shawn has yet to confirm or deny Will’s sexuality. That said, he did admit everything that goes down on Stranger Things happens for a reason! “Without getting into where we go later in season 4 [Volume II], I guess I’ll just say that there aren’t many accidents on Stranger Things,” he explained. “There is clear intention and strategy and real thought given to each and every character. So, if you came away from Volume I feeling those breadcrumbs of plot and character, it’s probably no accident.”
Since season 4 volume 2 released on July 1, 2022, fans pretty much had their suspicions confirmed of Will’s sexuality in a heartbreaking scene between Will and Mike. After Will tells Mike that Eleven needs him, Will starts to cry as he knows he can’t tell Mike how he really feels.
What Has Noah Schnapp Said About Will’s Sexuality?
As for the actor behind Will, Noah weighed in on his beliefs about his character’s sexuality in an interview with Variety in July 2022. “It’s 100 percent clear that he is gay and he does love Mike. But before, it was a slow arc,” the actor explained. “I think it is done so beautifully, because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay.”
He continued, “People have come up to me — I was just in Paris and this, like, 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, ‘Wow, this Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid.’ That just made me so happy to hear,” he gushed. “They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well.”
The Duffer Brothers also chimed in on Will’s sexuality in an interview with Variety, pretty much confirming Will’s feelings are clear in the last two episodes of season 4. “So there’s a lot more resolution in the story; we’re trying to do the same with the characters’ arcs. And I would say that applies to Will’s arc. So it’s going to be much easier to talk about for everyone — the actors and us — once those final two episodes have played. But certainly, his journey and arc is far from finished.”
Additionally, Noah came out as gay in a TikTok video posted on January 5, 2023, with the caption: “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”
Scroll through the gallery below for everything the Stranger Things cast and crew have said on Will Byers’ sexuality.
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