'Stranger Things' Lead at Risk of Being "Fired", Fans Command Netflix to Act Fast

While Stranger Things typically dominates the media with positive headlines, one of the lead actors has stepped out of line, reportedly showing hate towards the LGBTQ+ and Muslim community. Now, fans of the show are asking Netflix to step in and remove the character entirely.

If you are part of the 260+ billion Netflix subscribers, it is highly likely that you have seen, if not one, but all four seasons of Stranger Things.

Stranger Things is a coming-of-age sci-fi horror drama with a sprinkle of comedy, all dealing with the supernatural. The show is so odd, and very different from other shows with a more simple premise that many adults have grown up with, such as Boy Meets World, The OC, One Tree Hill, and others.

While the foundational elements that we have in any show dealing with young kids as they enter their high school era, such as dealing with making new friends, trying to fit in, discovering love, and more are certainly present, this cast is dealing with all of that, plus the fate of the world being in their hands.

When the show was being constructed by the Duffer brothers, no cable network was willing to touch the pilot unless the direction of the show shifted to either a kid’s show, or a show solely about Hopper. This rejection led the brothers to believe the show was a dud, and they stopped pitching it for quite some time. In the end, they decided to pick it back up again, and that is when Netflix agreed to stream it on their platform as is.

Those who have watched the series know that the show takes place in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, where a scientist is attacked by an unseen entity inside a U.S. government facility. The narrative begins with the mysterious disappearance of 12-year-old Will Byers, who vanishes while riding his bike home after a Dungeons & Dragons game with his friends Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair.

Following this, we get introduced to the character of Eleven, a young girl with supernatural abilities who loves her Eggo waffles. Flash forward to season four, where she is fighting Vecna, a new demon that is much tougher than the initial Demogorgon she dealt with in season one.

As noted by Forbes, “Stranger Things 4 holds the title for the most-watched Netflix English-language series in its first 28 days on the platform, with 1.35 billion hours viewed”. Fans of the show watched “335 million hours of Stranger Things 4 in a single week.” The only other English-speaking show to beat Stranger Things is Wednesday, with 341.2 million hours watched after one week of the first season’s debut.

Most recently, Stranger Things has been making headlines for their new stage play, Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

This Broadway-style show will be debuting this November in the West End, and after a teaser trailer dropped yesterday showing off the show, and telling fans that they will “lose their minds” when they see it, the excitement has only grown. The illusions and tricks of the show are reminiscent of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, another highly successful stage adaptation and story extension of a popular franchise.

As we shared yesterday, the plot of the show will be “Set in Hawkins, Ind. in 1959, Stranger Things: The First Shadow begins as a young Jim Hopper’s (Oscar Lloyd) car won’t start, Bob Newby’s (Christopher Buckley) sister Patty won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.”

The show will be a prequel to the series, so the iconic cast comprised of Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson and Brett Gelman will not be featured — however some of the characters that these actors play will be, such as Hopper and Joyce, played by entirely different actors ready to take on the Upside Down.

In the past, we have heard of some actors wanting to leave the franchise.

Finn Wolfhard, known for portraying Mike Wheeler, has seen his career thrive. The actor has been featured in numerous films since his debut in the first season of Stranger Things, including It, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and more.

Starting on Stranger Things at the age of 12, his remarkable growth is evident. He has also become the face of a new cologne campaign, highlighting his transition to more mature and adult-oriented endorsements. While Wolfhard is even stepping into the realm of directing, he has not gone on the record expressing his excitement to leave the Stranger Things franchise the way that Millie Bobby Brown has.

The actress expressed that this last season is like a final year of high school, one that she is ready to “get it over with”.

Lucky for Brown, even with these more negative comments, she and her character are beloved by fans.

Another actor is not getting the same leniency after his recent social media upset.

Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) shared that, “Noah Schnapp is under fire after liking a post mocking muslims and queers.”

Noah Schnapp is under fire after liking a post mocking muslims and queers. pic.twitter.com/1MGIh1fytw

— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) November 6, 2023

The interesting thing here is that Schnapp is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, having recently come out as gay, so this display certainly shocked many.

Now, fans want his character removed from Stranger Things. 

One reply stated, “Rewriting Noah Schnapp’s Stranger Things season 5 script so Will’s story ends with him being eaten by a Demogorgon and being forgotten forever.”

Another wrote, “he is just such an absolute horrible person. take this boy’s career.” More comments such as, “Stranger Things ends soon n he will go join all the other failed child actors,” followed.

Even when Pop Base (@popbase) shared a post that said, “40 years ago today, Will Byers disappeared in the ‘Stranger Things’ universe.” on Stranger Things day, the comments were not at all pleasant in response.

40 years ago today, Will Byers disappeared in the ‘Stranger Things’ universe. pic.twitter.com/LSAPAY97N9

— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 6, 2023

We saw replies like, “Should’ve stayed that way”, “he should’ve stayed lost”, “Me trying to figure out why the directors didn’t let him remain lost”, “Should’ve stayed missing”, and “He deserved it, don’t know why they even brought him back” dominate the X (formally Twitter) post.

Considering this post came out after the news was revealed of Schnapp liking the insensitive social media post, it is likely that the negative comments are related, as they are both reminiscent of each other.

Some fans are even asking Netflix to “remove Noah” entirely from the show due to this recent upset.

Noah recently shared a video of him playing Fortnite with the new Eleven skin, so it seems that his support of the show and his association with Stranger Things is still quite strong. 

At the moment, season 5 is in the works for the show, and Netflix is setting priority on the final season once the strike wraps. 

Are you a fan of the character Will Byers in Stranger Things?