The Annals of Forgotten Characters has a new entry: Will Byers from the ’80s-nostalgia Netflix hit Stranger Things. Hey fans on Reddit, Will’s perceived sidelining over the past couple of seasons isn’t just your overly in-tune theory about the show. In a Variety interview published on June 3, the Duffer Brothers revealed that they did, in fact, forget the date that Will was brought into the fictional world of Hawkins, Indiana. In the fourth episode of the new season, a rolling camera has the date March 22, yet no one in the show’s universe seems to realize that it’s Will’s canon b-day. “Clearly, like the characters in the show, we also forgot about Will’s birthday,” Matt Duffer said. “You know how George R.R. Martin has somebody — I mean, his story is more vast — and Stephen King has someone who just keeps track of this stuff? We need.” The funny thing is: The Duffers don’t even need to hire someone to keep track of the show’s timeline and lore … they could just crib from the community of devoted fans who update the Stranger Things Wiki, where it clearly states under the “Trivia” entry for Will Byers that his birthday is March 22, 1971. Work smart, not hard!
The duo suggested changing Will’s birthday to make it seem like it was May 22 with some slick editing tricks. “Because ‘May’ can fit in Winona’s mouth,” Matt Duffer told Variety of the season-two scene where Joyce says the date of Will’s birthday. “So that would be us George Lucas–ing the situation.”
Clearly they’ve been on the sub-Reddit because the Duffer Brothers also touched on the oft-discussed topic of Will’s sexuality. Will being in love with his best friend, Mike Wheeler, is a popular internet theory, while viral clips of his purported gayness run through Twitter like the tomb raider. Noah Schnapp, the actor who plays Will, has said that his character’s sexuality is up to interpretation. “So there’s a lot more resolution in the story; we’re trying to do the same with the characters’ arcs,” Matt Duffer promised. “And I would say that applies to Will’s arc. So it’s going to be much easier to talk about for everyone — the actors and us — once those final two episodes have played. But certainly, his journey and arc is far from finished.” That is, if y’all don’t forget about the poor kid.
