As if the lore drops in Stranger Things season five volume two weren’t enough to melt our brains, we finally got the moment we’ve been waiting for since 2016. Will Byers is officially out and proud.
But hold on to your trucker hats, because the Duffer Brothers just revealed that the scene we saw, the one where Will comes out to basically the entire population of Hawkins, was almost a much quieter, intimate affair.
Credit: Netflix
In a new interview with Variety, creator Ross Duffer admitted that they’ve been sitting on this storyline for years.
“Originally, it was going to be in Season four,” he revealed.
Apparently, they just couldn’t find the “space” to do it justice back then. Thank God. We needed that Season four car scene with Mike to build the tension first.
In the version that made it to air, Will comes out to a massive group including Mike, Dustin, Lucas, El, and even people he barely knows (hi, Kali!). It’s very public, and it’s had some people divided on whether it was too much pressure for him.
Credit: Netflix
Well, it turns out the original plan was for Will to only tell his mum.
“At first, it was just going to be Joyce in the original draft,” Ross explained. But they realised the scene “wasn’t hitting properly”.
The reason for the change? Vecna. The Duffers decided Will’s biggest vulnerability wasn’t just his sexuality, but the secret of it. By coming out to everyone, he effectively takes away Vecna’s power to use that shame against him. It’s not just a personal moment, it’s a tactical strike against the Upside Down.
It wasn’t just a big moment for Will; it was huge for Noah Schnapp, too. Noah, who came out himself in 2023, told Tudum that he also expected it to be a one-on-one scene with Winona Ryder.
Credit: Netflix
“For it to happen with the entire cast sitting there watching him was just so special,” Noah said. “I never really got to sit [the cast] down and have that conversation about my own coming out, so getting to do it was totally therapeutic and cathartic for me.”
He even confessed to running into Charlie Heaton’s arms and crying as soon as they finished filming, while the Duffers admitted this was the scene they spent the longest on in the entire history of the show.
If you need me, I’ll be rewatching the scene and sobbing into my Hellfire Club t-shirt.
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Featured image credit: Netflix
