Spoiler alert! This story discusses major spoilers from Stranger Things Season 5’s first four episodes. Stream them with your Netflix subscription if you need to catch up.
Stranger Things has officially returned to the 2025 TV schedule for a fifth and final battle with the monsters of the Upside Down. Volume 1, which hit the Netflix calendar more than three years after Season 4’s dramatic conclusion, ended on a huge revelation regarding Will Byers and his connection to Vecna after being abducted back in Season 1. Noah Schnapp discussed the big plot twist and the clue that was dropped for fans on the Season 5 poster.
The Hawkins heroes find themselves in quite a bind at the end of Season 5’s four-episode first drop, as Vecna appears, taunting Will for being weak before unleashing Demogorgons on him and his friends. However, Will is able to harness powers he never knew he had to stop the monsters in Vecna’s signature bone-breaking style and save everyone. Looking back at the poster for the final season, is Will’s placement a big clue about what’s to come? Noah Schnapp told Glamour:
Yeah. It’s always supposed to kind of feel the vibe of the season and give an essence of where everyone’s characters stand in that era and chapter of our story. So yeah, you can see a strength in him on there. And obviously, they didn’t want to spoil it with any blood or anything, but as close as you can get. Everything is very intentional that we do.
The poster may not go so far as to reveal that Will holds powers similar to Eleven’s — including the ever-present nosebleed when tapping into them — but there’s definitely something to be taken from how the characters are positioned. Take a look at the poster to refresh your memory:
While Millie Bobby Brown is front-and-center on the poster, second in size only to Vecna, Noah Schnapp’s character is directly above hers, only slightly smaller and — possibly most importantly — rising above everyone else to be positioned close to the humanoid monster.
As the actor pointed out, there is a new strength in Will’s eyes that we haven’t seen in past seasons and, while everyone else is standing at an angle, he and Eleven are the only ones facing straight ahead.
I admittedly hadn’t looked too closely for these kinds of details in the key art ahead of the season — I was even wary of watching the Season 5 trailer, which teased a big Will moment — but yeah, it definitely seems like there are some clues there for us to pick up on.
Noah Schnapp may not have gotten the credit he deserves for his performance thus far as Will Byers, but I’m excited to see what’s to come in Season 5, including how he continues to tap into these Eleven-like powers. Volume 2 is coming to Netflix on Christmas Day, consisting of three episodes, while the eighth and final episode of Stranger Things drops a week later on December 31.