Stranger Things: Will Byers Takes "Center Stage" in Final Season

The event that kicked off the debut season of Stranger Things was the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) and his closest friends embarking on a quest to find him in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Over the course of the next three seasons, 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. Due to the ongoing writers' and actors' strikes, it's unknown when production on Season 5 of Stranger Things could be moving forward.

"Will really takes center stage again in 5," Ross Duffer shared with Variety. "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."

Despite his disappearance igniting the events of the series, Season 1 largely saw Will being incapacitated in the Upside Down. Upon his rescue, Seasons 2 and 3 saw Will struggling to connect with his friends, due in large part to how much they had been through together while attempting to save him. In Season 4, Will struggled not only with that feeling of being an outsider, but also his own sexuality, largely centered around his unrequited feelings for Finn Wolfhard's Mike Wheeler.

Ever since Will's rescue, the character has exhibited bizarre after-effects of his time in the Upside Down, with some of these symptoms also being witnessed by other characters. In the Season 4 finale of Stranger Things, the rift between the real world and the Upside Down saw the two realities start to overlap, with Will specifically feeling attuned to the dark forces of the otherworldly dimension.

These comments echo remarks that Schnapp himself made last year about Will.

"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," Schnapp shared with Forbes in December of 2022. "The way they closed the show is just perfect -- the story started with Will, and it'll end with Will."

Stay tuned for updates on the final season of Stranger Things.

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