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Finn Wolfhard responds to Stranger Things fans who think that Will is queer: ‘It’s a really beautiful thing’

Actor opened up about Will’s ‘love’ for Mike

Annabel Nugent
Tuesday 31 May 2022 14:04 BST
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Stranger Things Season 4

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Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard has addressed the speculation that his character Will may be gay.

The fourth season of Netflix’s hit sci-fi series returned last week and fans are wasting no time racing through the seven new episodes now available to watch.

Season four begins with Eleven (Millie Bobbie Brown) and the Byers family having left Hawkins and moved to California.

Many fans have suggested that the latest season has hinted towards Will (Noah Schnapp) being queer, and perhaps having romantic feelings toward Mike (Finn Wolfhard).

In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Wolfhard was asked whether Will’s feelings for Mike are “shifting towards a more endearing, kind of heartfelt, romantic affection”.

The actor replied: “Yeah. I think you find out slowly through the season, Will’s kind of love towards Mike and I think it’s a really beautiful thing.”

He went on to say that there is “probably a mutual understanding and an acceptance” from Mike.

The word “acceptance” suggests that Will may share his feelings for Mike in the forthcoming part two of season four.

Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp in ‘Stranger Things’
Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp in ‘Stranger Things’ (Courtesy of Netflix)

*Spoilers for season four below*

It has long been suggested by fans that Will may be queer, and there have been numerous moments in the fourth series, which have led viewers to believe that Will’s attachment to Mike may be romantic.

In episode one, Mike comes to visit Eleven and Will in California. It quickly becomes apparent that Will is upset with his friend for not making more of an effort to stay in touch.

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As the show goes on, these emotions are exacerbated and Will feels increasingly sidelined and asks Mike why he did not reach out to him as much as he did with Eleven, whom Mike is dating.

In another scene early on in the season, Will is seen pulling away from a girl who rubs her foot against his leg at school.

(Netflix)

When the season four trailer was released, eagle-eyed viewers also noted that Will was doing a school project on Alan Turing, the mathematician and computer scientist who helped to break a number of German ciphers during the war. He was later persecuted for being gay in 1952.

In episode four of this latest season, Will also tells Mike that it is “scary to just open up” and “to say how you really feel”. Some fans have interpreted his speech to allude to him wanting to come out to his friend.

Others, however, have proposed that perhaps Will’s “jealousy” of Mike and Eleven’s relationship may stem from romantic feelings that he has towards Eleven instead.

Charlie Heaton (who plays Will’s older brother, Jonathan) recently responded to viewers saying that his character has been “sidelined” in this latest series.

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