The Duffer bros say Will’s Stranger Things season 5 arc will tie whole series together

Stranger Things will end with an emotional arc for Will Byers – that will tie the entire series together.

"Will really takes center stage again in [season] 5," Ross Duffer told Variety. "This emotional arc for him is what we feel is going to hopefully tie the whole series together. Will is used to being the young one, the introverted one, the one that’s being protected. So part of his journey, it’s not just sexuality – it’s Will coming into his own as a young man."

The series began with Will's disappearance, using Christmas lights to communicate with Joyce from the Upside Down and exposing the evil lurking just underneath Hawkins – so it's more than fitting that Stranger Things season 5 will end with an arc just as, if not more, powerful. Season 4 saw Will and Eleven reunite with Mike and Jonathan, embarking on a treacherous West Coast adventure – while touching on Will's sexuality and revealing his feelings for Mike.

We also more or less learned that Vecna's been here since the beginning, and that Will has an eerily 'special' connection to him – so much so that he was able to still feel Vecna's presence even after his defeat.

The fifth and final season was slated to begin filming this summer, but production has been paused due to the writer's strike. The stage play, however, should tide us over in the meantime.

Stranger Things season 5 does not yet have a release date. While you wait, check out our list of 19 shows that will turn your world upside down, or, check out our list of 13 horror movies to watch after Stranger Things season 4.