'Stranger Things' season 3 cast shares how their characters are fighting for their childhood amidst romantic distractions
The cast of 'Stranger Things' have all grown up, and how! They are no longer the tiny, confused looking kids we had immediately fallen in love with the first time the Netflix supernatural thriller graced our screens. Teetering on the brink of becoming teenagers, the boys in season 3 of 'Stranger things' are trying to retain their childhood innocence, but the distractions holding them back from investing as much time in Dungeons and Dragons are aplenty and are mostly to do with womenkind. Okay, basically, these boys are growing up and realizing just how much cooler life can get when you have a fun girlfriend who also enjoys the same things as you do, but there are always exceptions. And by exceptions we mean the always sheltered Will Byers who has been to the Upside Down and right now just wants to have fun with his friends sans their girlfriends.
As MEA Worldwide (MEAWW) caught up with the terrific cast of the show at the season 3 premiere on Friday, June 28, we had the privilege of knowing just what is going on with Will this season, courtesy the talented Noah Schnapp, who plays the role. "Will is kind of still holding on to his childhood," shared the 14-year-old Schnapp, adding: "He still wants to be a kid and yes, he's fighting for not growing up. He doesn't really want to mature and jump into his teenage years, he wants to go in the basement and play D&D like he did before and he's fighting for that." Armed with 'very short shorts like almost underwear' and a bowl cut that Schnapp would self admittedly never sport, the character is everything that teenage years stand for. And he's super adorable at that too.
The cast's wholesome friendship transcends beyond the screen too, as the face of Mike Wheeler, Finn Wolfhard, would like to note. Probably this is what boosts their chemistry so wonderfully on camera. "We (the child actors from the show) all grew up together so it's hard not to like talk to each other," Wolfhard shared about their friendship, adding: "And we all have so much fun making the show." But now that they are closer, Wolfhard would also like to note that kissing his on-screen girlfriend, Eleven, aka Millie Bobby Brown, isn't as awkward as it used to be.
The other person that Brown has really warmed up to is Sadie Sink, who plays the gang's new friend, Max, and becomes Eleven's BFF this season. The trailer shows the two of them giving us old school girl vibes as they prance around the mall buying clothes and ice cream. "There really wasn't much wooing that had to happen," Sink says about her and Brown's friendship which hit off right from the beginning. "There was just kind of like this automatic bond. I think being two girls close in age obviously helped with the bond and it was a really good transition. It was easy, and I felt really welcome!" But playing Max not only earned Sink a bunch of close friends but has also helped boost her confidence in real life. "I think Max has taught me a little bit about being more confident and being sure of myself, because she's so bold and loud, so playing her has helped with that," she said. "Especially coming into a show that is watched all over the world, I think playing Max boosted my self-confidence."
Max's boyfriend, Lucas, is a grown man too, and Caleb McLaughlin, who plays the role, claims Lucas is "definitely a lot more mature now, very intense and high strung, and faces battles differently." But the gang's most amusing member ever, Dustin, is still out there getting pranked. And Gaten Matarazzo will assure you that the pranks are something that happen off-screen too, all thanks to Schnapp and Brown. "Every time Millie and Noah are together, I feel like shenanighans are about to ensue," says Matarazzo. But he also loves his character's evolution, saying: "I think what's cool about the characters is that they (the writers) let it grow based on how we're growing. So they evolve naturally, which is really really interesting, and I think I've grown with the character which is cool!"
We are with you Dustin about the character evolution and developmental arcs that have been unpredictable in the past two seasons, but then that only makes the anticipation for season 3 all the more stronger.
'Stranger Things' season 3 arrives on Thursday, July 4, only on Netflix.