Stranger Things stars Charlie Heaton and Noah Schnapp reveal how Jonathan and Will are coping in California in season 4. Set to make its big return to Netflix next Friday, May 27 with part 1, Stranger Things season 4 looks as if it will be taking the Duffer Brothers’ pop culture sensation to grand new heights. Much of this will be due its broadened scale, as the trailers have promised the Upside Down's major villain in Vecna alongside Hopper's Russian prison plotline. However, the residents of Hawkins also have to deal with the fact that they are missing a few key players.
At the end of Stranger Things season 3, after the gang had once again joined forces during the Battle of Starcourt Mall to defeat the Mind Flayer, the Byers family and Eleven left Hawkins in order to distance themselves from the traumatic memories that it held for them. They were sent to California by Dr. Sam Owens, where they could try and build a new life away from their home town. Given that Hawkins lab and some tenuous connections to the Upside Down still linger in Hawkins, removing themselves seemed the only way that an exhausted and grieving Eleven, Will, Jonathan, and Joyce had a change to find some peace.
California may not be wholly peaceful for the Byers, though, as Heaton and Schnapp revealed to Screen Rant in an exclusive interview. Heaton and Schnapp, who play Jonathan and Will, respectively, explain that their characters are “both struggling” in their new lives away from Hawkins. Schnapp described the process of being “far from home” as difficult to cope with, while Heaton teased how California creates problems for Jonathan's relationship with Nancy Wheeler. However, the actor also mentioned Jonathan will find solace in his new friend, Argyle (Eduardo Franco). Read their full comments below:
Heaton: We're both struggling I think.
Schnapp: Yeah, always a struggle.
Heaton: From leaving Hawkins, where we find them, I think they're both dealing with the change and what that means for their characters. For my character, the distance in his relationship, which is obviously incredibly important to him, and how he's dealing with that. And for you, [Noah], missing your friends. Well, I won't speak for you.
Schnapp: It's a new place, and we're far away from home and coping with that.
Heaton: We're both struggling with change. Well, it's nice Jonathan has a new friend in Argyle, which is a sort of lovely dynamic.
For Jonathan and Will, their new home of California is likely going to be the least of their problems in Stranger Things season 4. Whilst adapting to a new location can be difficult, the Byers' struggles there will seemingly pale in comparison the ‘Big Bad’ in Stranger Things season 4, the terrifying Vecna. This mysterious lich, drawn from Dungeons & Dragons (as are most creatures in the show), is slated to be the darkest and scariest monster that Stranger Things has ever introduced. Jonathan and Will might therefore be glad that they’ve put some distance between themselves and Hawkins, although previous trailers indicate they won't be staying away for long.
Stranger Things season 4 is one of the most highly-anticipated releases of the year. It has been a long three years since season 3 hit the small screen, and audiences are eager to get back into the world the Duffer Brothers have so lovingly created. With Stranger Things season 4, part 1 set to release next week, exactly how the big move to California has affected the Byers family and Eleven will be made clear, as well as what ominous news causes them to finally return to Hawkins.