Stranger Things Noah Schnapp reveals his character Will Byers is gay says, ‘He is in love with Mike’

Observing the youthful cast members practically develop into young adults in front of our eyes has been one of the many thrilling aspects of "Stranger Things." It's possible that Noah Schnapp, the group's youngest founding member, is a case in point. His character, Will Byers, has experienced a lot over the years, including being kidnapped into the Upside Down, possessed by the Mind Flayer, and — maybe worst of all! — appearing to be abandoned by his best friends as they discovered females and grew up beyond their Dungeons and Dragons days.

In a recent interview, the 17-year-old actor revealed that his character on the show is gay. He said, "I mean, it’s pretty clear this season that Will has feelings for Mike. They’ve been intentionally pulling that out over the past few seasons...I think for Season 4, it was just me playing this character who loves his best friend but struggles with knowing if he’ll be accepted or not, and feeling like a mistake and like he doesn’t belong...It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends? Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it’s 100% clear that he is gay and he does love Mike."

The fifth season of the Matt and Ross Duffer-created Netflix’s Stranger Things is planned to release in 2024.