STRANGER THINGS Season 2 Will Revolve Around Will Beyers and What He's Going Through
October can't get here soon enough. Stranger Things Season 2 is deep in production and it sounds like things are going great. Executive producer and frequent director Shawn Levy recently talked to Mashable about the series and how things are going. In the process, he says that this next season will revolve around the character Will Beyers, and says that actor Noah Schnapp is killing it in the role.
"When we cast the kids, we cast Noah Schnapp as Will Byers knowing that he was only in a small amount of Season 1 because he was missing. And we cast him because we knew that kid was special. Even if we weren’t going to call on his full reservoir of abilities in Season 1. Will Byers is very much at the center of Season 2. Noah steps up in the most staggering way. The Duffers and I, depending on who’s directing when, we keep sending texts to each other going, 'holy shit, Noah is crushing it' and we knew he had it in him, and it’s really now to get in that moment, and put him firmly in the thick of story."
Damn, I can't wait to see Noah's performance. It's also great to hear that we will get to see him shine in this next chapter of the story. There's a good chance that Will could end up becoming evil. When previously talking about the series and where the story could go, Schnapp said:
"My guess is that maybe he's going to become evil in the next season. If he's coughing up these baby Demogorgons, or eggs, or something, maybe he's incubating or holding these eggs inside of him and he's trying to fight his good side against his bad side in the next season. That would be cool to see, to see him become evil."
Levy goes on to talk about the importance of the character development of the series, saying:
"As much density of story as our show has, we have to service the characters — and the moments and relationships between characters — above everything. If we stop being character-anchored, and we become pure genre, I think we take the beating heart out ofStranger Things, and we take the thing that people maybe don’t write articles about the most, but I think it’s what they love the most — these characters on screen."
Like all of you, I love the characters in Stranger Things and I love that the creative team has an understanding that they are the heart and soul of the series. The fact that they won't compromise that makes me believe that Season 2 will be just as incredible as Season 1 was. Who knows, maybe it will be even better. Levy Goes on to say:
"I will say that we have found the performances of our actors consistently inspiring, and bringing in people like Sean Astin; this new kid, Dacre Montgomery; this new kid, Sadie Sink... as we’ve seen the work they’re doing in episodes, the Duffers, recognizing strength, are making sure to service those characters even more over the course of the whole season. Perfect example, in Season 1, Steve Harrington was going to be a much more sparsely-used character. We saw what Joe Keery was doing, and we rewarded that with more story, more nuance, more dimension. The same thing is happening with a lot of the new characters this year."
When discussing why Stranger Things connected to audiences the way it did, Levy explains:
"I think the reason you have the show embraced, the way you have Barb embraced, is because everyone feels a little bit like that outcast, and our [series] shows the heroic in the difference. I love that about our show. That isn’t necessarily a literal commentary on things we see going on, but if it’s an unintentional commentary on our times, I’m thrilled by that."
I'm excited as hell for Stranger Things Season 2! Everything that I've heard and seen of the series has been great, but we still really have no idea what to expect. The nine-episode season premieres on October 31st on Netflix.