Posted in: Netflix, Preview, Stranger Things, TV | Tagged: netflix, preview, stranger things, stranger things 5

Stranger Things 5: "Will Really Takes Center Stage Again": Ross Duffer

Fans of Noah Schnapp's Will Byers are going to like to hear what Ross Duffer had to say about his role in Netflix's Stranger Things 5.

When we last checked in on how things were going with Ross Duffer & Matt Duffer's (The Duffer Brothers) Stranger Things 5, the good news was beginning to roll in. We learned during Netflix's global fan event TUDUM that Linda Hamilton ("Terminator" franchise, Resident Alien) had joined the cast. In addition, we learned that Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane) had been tapped to direct an episode. And the combination of the SAG-AFTRA & WGA strikes hit the entertainment industry, as productions across television & film hit the pause button – but for how long, we still don't know. But when work on the fifth & final season does get underway in full, fans of Noah Schnapp's Will Byers are going to like what one of the show's co-creators had to say about Will's role in what's to come.

In a pre-SAG-AFTRA & WGA strike interview/profile of Schnapp done by Variety for its "Power of Young Hollywood" issue, the young actor and those close to them personally & professionally discuss Schnapp's and Will's respective journeys when it came to coming out as gay publically. At one point in the piece, we learn that the Duffers sent Schnapp the scripts for the first three episodes – with Ross Duffer's explanation for why they did that offering some strong insight into Will's role for the final run. "Will really takes center stage again in '[Stranger Things] 5.' This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that's being protected. So part of his journey, it's not just sexuality — it's Will coming into his own as a young man," Ross Duffer shared.

Matt & Ross Duffer Discuss Stranger Things 5

Ross on Having "Quite a Bit More" of the "Overall Plan" & "Backstory" to Reveal: "I remember season one, we were just amazed that Netflix was letting us do this at all, but season two was when we really, with the writers, we developed an overall plan and a backstory for all of this and make sure that, with the Upside Down, everything about what it was." Though the fourth season offered quite a few answers, Ross says "we do have quite a bit more to get in. But just as important as the supernatural, we have so many characters now – most who are still living – and it's important to wrap up those arcs. A lot of these characters have been growing since season one, so it's a balancing act between giving them time to complete their character arcs and also tying up loose ends and doing our final reveals."

Matt on Making Netflix Execs Cry During 2-Hour Final Season Pitch Meeting: "We did get our executives to cry, which I felt was a good sign that these executives were crying. The only other times I've seen them cry were like budget meetings [crowd laughs]."

Season 5 Does Right by "The Lifeblood of 'Stranger Things'" – Levy: "As a witness and having been in that two-hour pitch room and having read this first script – I'm paralyzed with fear that I'll spoil anything, but I will say the thing about these Duffer Brothers is that even though the show has gotten so famous and the characters have gotten so iconic, and there's so much about the '80s and the supernatural and the genre, it's about these people, it's about these characters. Season five is already so clearly taking care of these stories of the characters because that's always been the lifeblood of 'Stranger Things.'"

Season 5 Will Be "A Culmination" of Previous Seasons' Pop Culture Themes/References – Ross: The final season will be "a culmination of all of the seasons, so it's sort of got a little bit from each, whereas before each season was so distinctly – three, this is our big summer blockbuster season with our big monster; four was the psychological horror. I think that what we're trying to do is go back to the beginning a little bit in the tone of [season] one, but scale-wise it's more in line with what [season] four is. Hopefully, it's got a little bit of everything."

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