Original 'Stranger Things' Pitch Suggests Will Byers Is Gay After All

As pleased as fans are with the queer addition of Robin to the Stranger Things gang, everyone still wants to know—is Will Byers gay?

Will’s journey in season three is one relatable to a lot of folks. His friends are getting interested in dating, getting interested in the opposite sex, and all he wants to do is keep things how they are. His loyalty lies with his friends and he doesn’t understand why their loyalty is becoming divided.

It’s something everyone deals with to an extent as they grow up, but losing your friends to an interest in the opposite sex you don’t share specifically resonates with the gay community.

That, combined with Mike’s comment to Will—“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”—has left fans wondering if the hit show could be a coming out journey for Will.

And now, there’s another reason to cling to the idea that Will Byers might be gay.

An old pitch document circulating online describes the original vision of the show. A lot of things have changed, but some form of concept, plot, and characters are all listed here. And Will’s description is of particular interest.

“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.”

As ScreenRant pointed out, though a lot about the show has changed from this document, that still sounds like Will. Could having Will gradually figuring out his sexuality have been the longterm plan from the start?

The young actor who plays Will, Noah Schnapp, has danced around the possibility from the start, which could easily be because he doesn’t know one way or the other.

“I kind of just interpret it like he’s not ready to grow up and he doesn’t really want to move on to dating and relationships yet,” he told The Wrap. “He still wants to be a kid and play in the basement like he did in old times.”

We don’t have an official confirmation from Netflix on season four of Stranger Things yet, but once we do, guess we’ll have to wait until then to see if it’s time for Will to have some serious self-realizations.