Noah Schnapp: Stranger Things ending is “bittersweet”

Since premiering in 2016, Stranger Things has become one of Netflix’s tent pole shows. It is, perhaps, the streamer’s biggest original series. Next year, Stranger Things will air its fifth and final season, and in just a few months the cast and crew will shoot for the last time. It’s bound to be en emotional experience for all involved. According to star Noah Schnapp (Will Byers), going back to film the final episodes feels “bittersweet.”

Schnapp has been involved in Stranger Things for almost a decade at this point. Starting at only 10 years old, he’s now an adult at18 and is preparing to put a satisfying conclusion to his long journey on the show. Speaking to Collider, he revealed that returning to the Stranger Things set is his next project in 2023. “I mean, just wrapping Stranger Things, so bittersweet,” he said. “I mean, it was obviously kind of what made me, I guess, as an actor, and I’ve grown up on the show.”

Moreover, Schnapp predicted that the final day on set will no doubt see plenty of tears being shed. I do hope we get some behind-the-scenes images so we can cry along with them:

"I first started on it when I was 10 and now I’m like an adult, so it’s crazy. But, I’m really excited to get shooting. The last season looks really good, and when it’s over I’m definitely gonna be crying and upset, but excited for what the future holds."

He’s already having plenty of success outside the Stranger Things bubble. Most recently, he starred in The Tutor, which is now in theaters.

Millie Bobby Brown is ready to wrap up Stranger Things.

Of course, the ending of the main show doesn’t mean there won’t be spinoffs in the works. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer have already revealed their intent to drive the story forward with a spinoff series — one which star Finn Wolfhard (Mike) has correctly guessed.

For now, however, Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) seems content to move on to other projects. That’s more than fair enough given the amount of time and dedication she’s put into Stranger Things.

“I’m definitely ready to wrap up. I feel like there’s a lot of the story that’s been told now, and we know of it, it’s been in our lives for a very long time,” she told Seventeen. “But I’m very ready to say goodbye to this chapter of my life and open new ones.”

Netflix has yet to announce a release date for the final season of Stranger Things, but with filming beginning in the summer, a release window of mid to late 2024 seems likely. Hopefully the streamer gives us a little more clarity during its annual TUDUM event later this year.