Stranger Things season 3 featured a line that caused much discussion. When Mike and Will argue over the way their gang is drifting apart now that they’re in their teens, Mike cries: “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls.” Will then storms off and has a bit of an emotional meltdown in the woods – even destroying Castle Byers – but his sexuality is never addressed again for the remainder of the run. However, some new information might clarify things a bit.
ScreenRant has unearthed the original character breakdown for Will from the series’ bible, created back when the show was still titled Montauk and was set in the real-life Long Island town of the same name, which is believed to be home to paranormal phenomena. Obviously, the setting changed as the project developed into Stranger Things, but the cast of characters stayed much the same. As seen in in this description below, which gives us a closer look at Will’s inner turmoil.
“WILL BYERS, twelve, is a sweet, sensitive kid with sexual identity issues. He only recently came to the realization that he does not fit into 1980s definition of ‘normal.’ His innocent choices, such as his colorful clothes, prove a constant source of bullying. Like Mike, Will escapes through fantasy gaming, where he can be himself, uninhibited. He has a close relationship with his mother, Joyce. His brother, Jonathan, helps raise him in lieu of their father, who abandoned them four years ago.”
This doesn’t explicitly label Will as LGBT, but it’s clear from the mention of “sexual identity issues” and that Will doesn’t believe he fits the “1980s definition of ‘normal” that the creators were thinking along those lines when they crafted the character. If you’ve been looking for confirmation of Will’s sexuality, feel free to take this that way.
That said, as this is from a breakdown of a slightly earlier form of the show, it doesn’t necessarily mean the writers still approach Will’s character from this point of view. Star Noah Schnapp’s own reaction to Mike’s line in season 3 suggests that Will’s orientation has been deliberately left ambiguous by the Duffers. But maybe they’re just waiting for Stranger Things season 4 to finally have Will come out and give some closure to his arc.
