While viewers of Stranger Things 3 have mostly been buzzing about nostalgic mall porn, gross rats, and the return of many ’80s icons, a pointed scene between two characters this season is still lingering in the back of some people’s minds. In it, Mike (Finn Wolfard) yells at his pal Will (Noah Schnapp) that “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls,†a quote that has been interpreted as Mike knowing Will is gay. However, in a new interview with The Wrap, Schnapp has a different angle on Will’s sexuality, while also leaving it up to the interpretation of viewers. “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,†Schnapp explained. “He still wants to be a kid and play in the basement like he did in old times.â€
Schnapp added that Will’s continued trauma of being in and surviving the Upside Down — something his cohorts never experienced — contributed to his lack of interest in girls. “While all the characters were out developing and growing up, Will was in the Upside Down and he was alone there, not interacting with or connected to his friends or the rest of the world,†Schnapp said. “And when he got back, he expected everything to just go back to how it was before, how it was when he was normal and when he was a kid and he wanted to go back to the basement and play D&D.â€
Schnapp had previously addressed Will’s sexuality back in season one, when he was only 12 years old, saying that his character being “gay or not is besides the point†of the show. “Stranger Things is about a bunch of kids who are outsiders and find each other because they have been bullied in some way or are different,†he wrote at the time. “Does being sensitive, or a loner, or a teenager who likes photography, or a girl with red hair and big glasses, make you gay?†Or being a kick-ass Dungeon Master, for the matter.