Trigger Warning: This article touches on the topic of suicide. If you, or someone you know, would like to have a free, confidential chat with someone you can trust, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit their website.
It’s been over two years since Stranger Things 3 hit screens and, needless to say, fans have been eagerly awaiting the fourth instalment of the sci-fi show.
With a new trailer for the latest season having dropped, devoted viewers are keeping their eyes peeled for any hints about what we can expect from the upcoming season.
WATCH: Stranger Things 4 Trailer
In the new trailer, we see El (Eleven) – portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown – struggling to fit in at her new school while writing to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) as though everything is fine. We also see glimpses of Will, Mike, Jonathon, Joyce, as well as some fresh faces.
“I am ready for spring break,” Elle says in the trailer, narrating her letter to Mike. “Mostly because I get to see you. We will have the best spring break ever”.
Queue deadly explosions. Ahh yes, fun Spring Break things 😍.
But despite the chaotic end to the trailer, Stranger Things fans were more fixated on something else.
Apart from being… um… mesmerised by Mike and Will’s new haircuts, viewers couldn’t help but notice a subtle detail about Will Byers in the new footage.
In a brief clip of El and Will walking in the school corridor, fans noticed the latter character holding a poster that read “Alan Turing” who was the English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer credited with breaking the Nazi Enigma code during World War II.
After being outed as gay in 1952, Turing was convicted of “indecency” as homosexuality was still illegal in Britain at the time. The mathematician took his own life two years later at 41 years of age.
Some fans have taken this nod to Turing as an Easter Egg for Will’s own sexuality.
Since Stranger Things first hit screens, many fans have suggested that Will is queer coded.
Despite the character’s sexuality never being confirmed, throughout the show, Will has been called a number of homophobic slurs, while also having referenced feeling like an outsider.
He has also been one of the only male characters in the main cast to not have a female romantic interest so far – something that was picked up on by his best friend Mike in season three.
After Will was upset that Mike and Lucas ditch him to go hang out with their girlfriends, Mike told Will: “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”.
As a result, many fan theories about Will’s sexuality have arisen. Noah Schnapp, the actor who portrays Will, even weighed in on the discussion in 2019.
Speaking specifically about the scene with Mike and Will, Noah told The Wrap that Mike’s comment is “up to interpretation” by the audience.
“He just wants to play D&D in the basement, and now all of his friends have girlfriends and they are dating. And it’s kind of, when you hear Mike say that line, it’s really up to the audience to interpret it. 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 still wants to be a kid and play in the basement like he did in old times,” Noah said to the publication.
Meanwhile, the creators of the show – The Duffer Brothers – haven’t said much about Will’s sexuality; however, the original description of Will’s character did suggest that the teenager had “sexual identity issues”, according to ScreenRant.
“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’,” the OG description read.
“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.”
We guess we’ll just have to wait and see what’s in store for Stranger Things 4. It’s due to hit screens some time in 2022.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit their website.
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