Did Noah Schnapp Just Reveal That Will Byers Doesn’t Have Powers In Stranger Things?

Stranger Things just dropped one of its most crowd-pleasing moments in a minute: that Season 5 Episode 4 ender where Will the Sorcerer steps up and absolutely wrecks a pack of demogorgons. It is the first time Will Byers really unleashes something on that level, and yeah, it feels like the show finally cashing a check it wrote back in Season 1.

Will vs. Eleven: same power, different vibe

If you noticed Will’s technique looked nothing like Eleven’s, you’re not imagining it. El typically pushes with her palms out at the target. Will’s hands are upturned, more like he’s pulling power out of something rather than shoving it at someone.

Noah Schnapp says that was a deliberate switch. In a making-of video for the scene, he explained that they started with the classic Eleven stance, then reworked it because Will’s power source isn’t the same.

"This is different because Will is siphoning these powers. It doesn’t come from him. It comes from Vecna."

Fans already knew Will had a connection to Vecna. Hearing Schnapp spell it out as literal siphoning? That set off alarms for a lot of people who considered it a big spoiler. A popular fan account even posted a clip on December 3, 2025 saying that Schnapp confirms Will doesn’t have powers of his own and is channeling them straight from Vecna. Given how much the show has danced around the origins of both Vecna and Eleven’s abilities, that’s a pretty hefty piece of the puzzle to hand out in a BTS video.

Also, tiny detail that matters: the episode flat-out calls him the Sorcerer. That label plus the palms-up 'pull' gesture really sells the idea that Will is drawing something out of the Upside Down rather than projecting it.

The almost-spoiler Millie shut down

And speaking of spoilers, Schnapp nearly let another one slip in a TV Guide interview. He was asked who the show’s most misunderstood villain is and started to answer with: "Low-key Vecna, because like..."

Millie Bobby Brown jumped in: "Really? No, shut up. That’s it, now be quiet."

She then steered the chat away when the interviewer tried to follow up. What was he about to say? Your guess is as good as mine. If you’ve seen the stage prequel Stranger Things: The First Shadow, you’ve got a bit more context for Henry Creel’s path to Vecna, but none of it excuses the truly awful stuff he’s done onscreen — including trapping the souls of innocent kids in the Upside Down. A redemption arc feels... wildly unlikely. Best theory floating around is that "misunderstood" might connect to how Will channels Vecna’s power rather than Vecna being secretly good.

Why Will, and why now?

The Duffer brothers have been pretty candid about why Season 5 re-centers Will and gives him this surge. Ross Duffer said one of their earliest ideas for the season was simple:

"What if Will were able to harness this connection and use it against our villains?"

They wanted the story to come full circle. Will was the kid taken in Season 1, so making him the key to ending Vecna always made sense to them. Matt Duffer added that Will has been sitting with a lot of unresolved stuff for four seasons; giving him space to grow into a fully realized version of himself is what unlocks those "incredible powers."

Schnapp, meanwhile, sounds thrilled to finally play Will in attack mode after years of being the character everyone protects. He called the moment a dream after being "such a walked-all-over" kid for so long, and added: "Getting to be strong and direct and powerful is just so satisfying as an actor."

What this all means right now

• Will’s power stance isn’t a copy of Eleven’s for a reason: he’s pulling energy, not pushing it — and per Schnapp, he’s siphoning it from Vecna.
• Schnapp almost spilled more about Vecna in a TV Guide interview before Millie Bobby Brown shut it down mid-sentence.
• The Duffers designed Season 5 to bring Will full circle: he was the first victim, and now he’s central to taking Vecna down.
• Don’t expect Vecna/Henry Creel to be rehabilitated; at best, the "misunderstood" angle could tie into Will’s unique connection.
• More answers are coming soon: Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 2 hits Netflix on December 25.

I’m curious where the show draws the line on Will’s connection — helpful conduit or dangerous battery pack? We should find out when Volume 2 drops on December 25. What do you make of Will the Sorcerer so far? Drop your take below.