Noah Schnapp Says Leaving 'Stranger Things' After Its Final Season Will Be 'So Bittersweet'

As "Stranger Things" prepares for its fifth and final season, the cast members are expressing their sentiments about the end. Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers, recently shared that ending the show will be "so bittersweet."

The actor noted that while he's excited to begin shooting, he's definitely going to be "crying and upset" afterward. "Stranger Things" stars David Harbour, Gaten Materazzo, and Millie Bobby Brown also shared that they're ready to close that chapter and move on. 

Read on to find out more. 

While his future in the show may seem bleak, Noah Schnapp has said he's excited to begin filming the final season of "Stranger Things." During a recent interview with Collider ahead of his new role in "The Tutor," the 18-year-old spoke about the show's fifth season.  

Schnapp shared that filming the final season will be "bittersweet," mainly because he's been working on the show since childhood. He said, "I mean, just wrapping 'Stranger Things' — so bittersweet. I mean, it's obviously kind of what made me, I guess, as an actor, and I've grown up on the show. I first started on it when I was 10 and now I'm, like, an adult. So, it's crazy."

Schnapp clarified that he'll be "crying and upset" when they wrap up filming for season five but is excited "for what the future holds." More of the "Stranger Things" cast and crew has also shared their feelings about the hit series ending. 

David Harbour, the actor playing Detective Jim Hopper, spoke about the final season during the recent Middle East Film & Comic Con in Abu Dhabi. According to Collider, Harbour was very open about his feelings on concluding the show and said it's a "bittersweet" experience. He shared that it's finally "time for it to end" and for the cast to "leave that nest and try other things and different projects." 

In an interview with Seventeen magazine, Millie Bobby Brown shared her feelings about season five and said she's "definitely ready to wrap up." Brown said, "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. I'm now able to create stories myself that are important to me and focus on the bigger picture." The "Godzilla v. Kong" actress also added, "But I'm really grateful for the show."

Another star of the hit series, Gaten Matarazzo, recently spoke about it reaching its final stop and how it would affect him. While on the "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," he said after being asked about season 5, "There's kind of an excitement there because you always want to wrap it up and see how these characters are going to develop one last time finally and how they're going to finish their journeys."

Matarazzo added, "But also, there's like a deep fear. Not only has it been amazing, but it's been pretty great job security for a while."

Schnapp went viral recently on social media after he came out as gay through a TikTok video. In the post, he wrote that he's "more similar to Will than I thought." This caption was a reference to Will Byers, his character in "Stranger Things," who is also gay.

The TikTok video read, "When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was 'we know.'" Schnapp also lip-synced to the popular TikTok sound, "You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, will never be that serious."

The actor's sexuality reveal was positively received by his fans on social media, especially those also in the LGBTQ+ community. Schnapp later shared that his family was supportive and posted a sweet message his grandfather had sent him after his coming out.

"Stranger Things," will begin filming for its fifth and last season later this year. The season will feature Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown, and her Hawkins crew having a final face-off against Vecna/Henry Creel (played by Jamie Campbell Bower). 

The hit series has had a long road to success since it premiered its first season, where fans got to experience the Upside Down. Season four of the show was released in May 2022 in two parts, to critical and commercial success, so there's high anticipation for the fifth season.