noah schnapp eras tour

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The Eras Tour Film Is Sequined Asset Management

This review was originally published on October 16, 2023. On March 14, 2024, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) began streaming on Disney+ .

Nostalgia is a retirement community, the place the mind goes when it’s tired of going places. It’s fun to revisit the person you used to be; it’s difficult to keep speeding into the unknown. This is what Taylor Swift is singing about in “Midnight Rain” and “invisible string”: the question of how closely to cling to the spaces and traditions and relationships that once made us feel at home. The year of Taylormania that followed the launch of 2022’s Midnights — a deluge of romantic upheaval and political intrigue in the middle of an elaborate reissue campaign and world tour — bore this out further. Night after night on the Eras tour, her new album provided a majestic, self-aware conclusion to a survey of past Taylors, claiming victory over the money takers and heartbreakers who get in her way and celebrating her own resourcefulness in the two-hit combo of “Mastermind” and “Karma.” Swift is on trend as always, conducting a guided tour of her past wins and losses via a vast and variable array of Bush- and Obama-era faves, while scratching the same itch as 4K Blu-ray box sets and Resident Evil remakes with each Taylor’s Version and merch module. The multimedia blitz, capped off with the new Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film, comprises a sage act of asset management wrapped in self-empowerment language.

The Eras Tour movie is a tech-savvy take on an age-old ploy: giving fans another space to connect, a step between listening to the records alone and ponying up for arena performances, like the Pink Floyd laser light shows of the ’70s or silver-screen pop-star endeavors of the ’80s, from Prince’s Purple Rain to Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker . Eras gets great mileage out of the simple premise of bringing Swift’s tour to audiences defeated by the presale ticket gauntlet and territories the North American itinerary missed. You can see the tears ricochet in the Bronx or in Dubuque. The IMAX presentation is startlingly crisp; if you yelled at an inopportune moment in any of the shows at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium, where director Sam Wrench shot the film, there’s a chance you’ll hear yourself. As Swift thunders through over two and a half hours of hits and deep cuts, every sound pops and every sequin sparkles.

But it’s almost too much movie, a trip through nine albums in sections that sometimes cover almost half the track list. Observing Swift closely forces a reassessment of 17 years of adaptability and success in hitmaking. This isn’t too different from the goal of any other live performance , where a set list is pieced together out of cherished singles and recent gems. The wise angle is commercializing the fandom slang in Eras ’ title and concept — it was people pining for new Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Beyoncé albums who got everyone debating and complaining about pop-star “eras” — which conveniently provides framing for sets that poke around the studio albums Swift released since her last trek, 2018’s Reputation Stadium tour, in addition to the ones being rerecorded and reissued at a steady drip.

A hefty slice of 2019’s Lover leads the way, offering a feel for the ambition of the rest of the show as Swift and her backup dancers buzz through a makeshift office complex during “The Man.” The folklore section features a tiny cabin and Swift serving Florence Welch teas, thrashing about dramatically in a flowing white gown during a stormy rendition of “August.” Evermore ’s “Willow” gets a fiery routine that resembles a Druidic ritual. The tour and film both cycle through bubbly dance-pop, mainstream country, rustic folk, and slick R&B/trap while jumping around the catalogue out of order, impressing upon the viewer how much Swift has grown artistically and how much ground she remains capable of covering, strumming the guitar, playing the piano, and working through modest choreography (with a spirited team of dancers playing off of her gestures). She can be the high-school bully stomping through 1989 ’s “Bad Blood” and the Springsteen-esque auteur unfurling wounded verses across Red ’s “All Too Well (10-Minute Version).”

Blasting these songs out in pristine quality and creating dance parties in theaters across the country sets up a bread-crumb trail leading back to the records. Lover ’s “Cruel Summer” is enjoying better traction on the Hot 100 this month than it did in 2019, when it was first released. Swift has not reinvented the wheel, but she has spent the year engaged in an elaborate, successful project to drum up interest (and presumably value) in the presentation and legacy of a catalogue of albums at a time when many of her neighbors on mainstream radio are more concerned with maintaining release schedules that break old chart records and penetrate evolving trends than thoughtfully looking backward. She’s teeing up late-career stability during her record-selling prime, running the warm, fuzzy retrospective odds-and-ends campaigns the subjects of Rhino reissues often do as they crack their vaults in their 50s and 60s, making sure that the versions she can oversee herself are the ones percolating on streaming services and freeing B-sides and alternate takes that have developed a patina of mystery. She’s editing her narrative in real time, revealing the extent to which she’s figured her shit out since the shake-up in her public image brought about by the war of words with Kim Kardashian and Ye.

This year finds her juggling silliness and seriousness. Swift is just as eager to showcase the versatility of her creativity as she was in 2021, when she presented her All Too Well short film at the Tribeca Festival, but she remains leery of reveling in the same vaunted singer-songwriter air she courts. (This is a dilemma you can observe on her face when she feigns surprise while winning awards. In the film, stage banter undercuts the intensity of the pen, and you’re treated to a blooper reel in the closing credits.) But the Reputation era taught Swift the importance of weaponizing prestige. The Miss Americana Netflix documentary tracked the process of learning to draw lines in the sand around her politics, to pierce the mask of agreeability she developed as a teenage country star, to make a few enemies. Swift’s pointed critiques of Ticketmaster over the presale fiasco and Scooter Braun over the alleged surprise purchase of her masters come from the same place, fashioning the outraged recalcitrance of Speak Now ’s “Mean” into a scythe.

At the root of Eras and its big-screen component is a proverbial taking the power back. Swift’s production company financed the film out of pocket and signed distribution deals with AMC and Cinemark to secure theaters, cutting out studios for an independent documentary release. And the “I’m Still Standing” vibe in the premise of the tour coupled with the themes of heartbreak in the lyrics made it a hot ticket for celebrities in the throes of divorce proceedings . (The tour is the rare cultural event attended by Flavor Flav of Public Enemy; Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex; and Billy Joel. Over the film’s opening weekend, Taylor Lautner, Beyoncé, and the puppet from Saw were spotted in theaters.)

A keen fascination with American glamour in its variable permutations drives folklore ’s “the last great american dynasty” and Lover ’s “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” and between Fearless ’s “Love Story” and Midnights ’s “Anti-Hero,” the timeless dream of the storybook career and romance is explored and critiqued. This makes the glint of classic Hollywood ubiquity on Swift’s recent swarm of activity feel like a performance not so far removed from the impassioned take on “Cruel Summer” that brings a fan to tears in the film. On the surface, Eras is a naked, clever plot to plug into the millennial nostalgia machine that has yielded music festivals tailored to ’90s nu metal and aughts indie rock fans and mountains of cartoon and sitcom reboots. It’s a logical expansion, another exercise in big-league capitalism from an artist who has used pizza boxes and UPS trucks as promotional platforms. But it’s also a showcase for the pen and pain that animate Swift’s finest compositions, the fuel that keeps the pistons in her well-oiled business apparatus pumping year after year.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the song “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” and the year Taylor premiered the All Too Well short film.

• taylor swift
• taylor swift | the eras tour
• the eras tour movie
• movie review
• craig jenkins
• new york magazine

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Fun Facts About Noah Schnapp That'll Make You Love Him Even More

For starters, he's the voice of Charlie Brown!

One day, Noah Schnapp was a normal kid — with a few acting projects under his belt — then he booked a role that would change his life. Now, Noah is synonymous with Netflix's Stranger Things , and for good reason. The guy can act his face off! (Seriously, where is his Emmy?!)

But who is Noah beyond Stranger Things ? Check out these fun facts about the New York native and get ready to fall in love with him all over again. And when you're done with that, be sure to check out all the scoop on the final season of Stranger Things !

He originally auditioned for Mike on Stranger Things

Back in 2016, Noah tweeted he tried out for Mike before later getting cast as Will. When he was told the exciting casting news, Noah had since forgotten what Stranger Things (then called Montauk ) was even about.

"I go to camp every summer for seven weeks and it’s like sleepaway camp," he told NKD magazine, as reported by Teen Vogue . "You have three phone calls every summer with your parents and I was on my last phone call. And this was some audition blurred with all the other auditions I did, so I didn’t remember what it was, but I remember them calling me."

He auditioned for The Goldfinch

Noah could've co-starred with his fellow Stranger Things actor, Finn Wolfhard, in The Goldfinch . A video of Noah's audition for Young Theo made the rounds online. The role eventually went to Oakes Fegley .

He has a marriage pact with Millie Bobby Brown

If Noah and Millie are both single by the time they're 40 years old, the BFFs revealed they'd get hitched. "We said if we’re not married by 40, we’ll get married together," Millie admitted in a video with MTV News , adding it's because the pair of friends would "be good roomies" and sleep in "separate bedrooms for sure."

Millie did jokingly confess they wouldn't have kids because she "could not deal with a child of [Noah's]." Agreeing with her, Noah said, "That’s my deal-breaker. No kids."

Interestingly, Millie is currently not single; she's been dating Jake Bongiovi since 2021 .

He low-key hit on Asher Angel's girlfriend, Caroline Gregory

In March 2021, Caroline posted a video of her lip-synching to Avril Lavigne's song, "What The Hell," while dancing on the beach. Noah slid into the TikTok comments section and posted, "Uh hi."

However, Caroline's boyfriend, Shazam! star Asher, shut that down STAT. Instagram account @tiktokinsiders shared that Caroline liked Asher's comment. (The post has since been deleted, but screenshots are forever.)

He's already a multi-millionaire

The 17-year-old has a net worth of $3 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth .

Noah and his fellow Stranger Things castmates reportedly earned around $30,000 per episode for the series’ first two seasons, and somewhere around $250,000 per episode for subsequent seasons. However, Noah has done other projects — such as voicing Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie — that have also contributed to his hefty bank account.

He's a twin

Noah and his sister, Chloe, were born on October 3, 2004 ( Mean Girls Day!). According to his IMDb page , Noah is four minutes older than Chloe.

He's in college

Noah is currently attending the University of Pennsylvania. He shared on The Tonight Show in 2022 he'll "be majoring in business and entrepreneurship." Moreover, he'll "be minoring in film and taking film classes, of course. [He has] to."

He had a regular summer job

The summer before attending college, Noah shared with Flaun t he worked part-time as a lifeguard at a local pool. "It’s kind of a 'just for fun' thing," he told the outlet.

Furthermore, he added, "I’ve kind of grown up with a normal life and normal friends and stuff outside of Stranger Things , so it’s kind of kept me grounded."

He was in a Panic! At The Disco music video

In 2016, Noah starred in the music video for " LA Devotee ." When he talked about the experience during a Wired Autocomplete Interview in 2022, he said, "I was sh*tting myself; I was so scared."

His celebrity crush is Zendaya

Noah met the Euphoria star at the 2019 People's Choice Awards, and he fangirled over the moment while appearing on an episode of The Tonight Show in 2020.

During the interview, Noah nearly said he was "in love with" Zendaya, but covered his mouth and adorably cut himself off. "It was amazing," Noah said about the experience. "She smelled great and she was so cute."

He's 5' 9" tall

For comparison, Finn Wolfhard is 5' 10" tall and Millie Bobby Brown is 5' 4" tall.

Stacey Grant is a senior editor at Seventeen who runs the brand's Snapchat Discover channel. She also covers entertainment topics specializing in nostalgia, such as classic '90s and '00s Disney Channel and Nickelodeon content.

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Breaking Down Taylor Swift's Remaining ‘Eras Tour' Schedule

Taylor Swift 's three-hour Eras Tour setlist is no joke - and neither is her schedule.

After sold-out runs across the United States, South America, Mexico, Australia and Asia, Swift, 34, has a nearly two-month hiatus.

"We got to play 6 shows in Singapore for the most wonderful crowds - just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who traveled and put so much effort into being at our shows," Swift wrote via Instagram on Monday, March 10. "What an unforgettable way to end this leg of the tour!! See you in May when we get back to the Eras Tour !! In the meantime, I've got an album to release."

Swift will debut her 11th studio album , The Tortured Poets Department , on April 19 in the middle of her tour break. In addition to TTPD promo, Swift has been "nesting" with boyfriend Travis Kelce at her home in Los Angeles. (Kelce, 34, attended several shows in Argentina, Australia and Singapore during his NFL offseason and bye week.)

Taylor Swift Is Absolutely 'Bejeweled' in Her 'Eras Tour' Concert Outfits

"They're focused on rest and recuperation and relaxing at home and having low-key and chill time together," a source exclusively told Us Weekly later in March. "They are enjoying movie nights in her home theater, catching up on films and shows they've missed. They can finally rest and intend on spending quality time together and with friends and family."

Swift's downtime will end in May when she says bonjour to France for the first show of the next leg of Eras. The European shows commence at Paris' La Défense Arena on Thursday, May 9, and run through Sunday, May 12. Paramore will return as the tour's opening act. After saying au revoir to the City of Lights, Swift will make her way to Sweden, Portugal, Spain, England and more.

Keep scrolling for Swift's remaining Eras Tour schedule:

May 9-12: Paris, La Défense Arena

May 17-19: Stockholm, Sweden, Friends Arena

May 24-30: Lisbon, Portugal, Estadio Da Luz

June 2-3: Lyon, France, Groupama Stadium

June 7-9: Edinburgh, Scotland, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium

June 13-15: Liverpool, U.K., Anfield Stadium

June 18: Cardiff, Wales, Principality Stadium

June 21-23: London, Wembley Stadium

June 28-30: Dublin, Aviva Stadium

July 4-6: Amsterdam, Johan Cruijff Arena

July 9-10: Zurich, Switzerland, Stadion Letzigrund Zurich

July 13-14: Milan, Italy, San Siro Stadium

July 17-19: Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Veltins-Arena

July 23-24: Hamburg, Germany, Volksparkstadion

July 27-28: Munich, Germany, Olympiastadion

August 1-3: Warsaw, Poland, PGE Narodowy

August 8-10: Vienna, Austria, Ernst-Happel-Stadion

August 15-17, August 19-20: London, Wembley Stadium

October 18-20: Miami, Hard Rock Stadium

October 25-27: New Orleans, Caesars Superdome

November 1-3: Indianapolis, Indiana, Lucas Oil Stadium

November 14-16, November 21-23: Toronto, Canada, Rogers Centre

December 6-8: Vancouver, Canada, BC Place

Noah Schnapp Posted His College Acceptance Reaction On TikTok And It's So Hype

Imagine running into Will Byers on campus.

You go, Will Byers! The Stranger Things star known for playing Will on the hit series is about to hit the books at the University of Pennsylvania after officially becoming a Penn Quaker, and he documented his acceptance on social media. Noah Schnapp’s TikTok of his UPenn acceptance is so happy, and you’re going to feel like you were the one who got the exciting letter.

Little Will Byers isn’t so little anymore, and it looks like UPenn will soon be his new stomping ground. On Friday, Dec. 17, Schnapp shared a TikTok video that organically captured his and his family’s reaction to his acceptance into the University of Pennsylvania. The prestigious college is currently ranked as the fifth-best Ivy League school and the eighth-best national university . The 17-year-old, who shot to fame as one of the stars of Netflix’s Stranger Things , captioned the TikTok video with pride, writing, “#UPENN2026 BABY.”

The TikTok video features OneRepublic’s song “I Lived” from the band’s 2013 album Native and Schnapp’s family members, including his twin sister Chloe, erupting in excitement after reading his acceptance letter. The clip shows his parents, Mitchell and Karine, and Schnapp and his sister staring at a computer screen. First, Schnapp looks nervous, but quickly the moment turns into a joyous occasion as they see he’s been accepted to the university, and they begin dancing around the kitchen, screaming and clapping in excitement. His dad eventually turns back to read the screen, smiling in pride.

Although Schnapp may be a famous actor, he isn’t the only one to share his family’s reactions to college acceptance letters, as it’s become a big trend on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Netflix shared the video of Schnapp, expressing the streaming platform’s pride for the star. “This video of Noah Schnapp learning he got accepted to college is the purest thing in the world. Congrats, Noah,” Netflix wrote on its Twitter account, sharing the video.

Schnapp’s sister Chloe previously shared a TikTok video of her bro getting accepted into Harvard University’s class of 2025 in December 2020 but clarified that it was a joke in the comments.

On her Instagram Stories , Chloe also shared photos of her twin brother, writing "THIS KID IS OFF TO UPENN!!!"

Her Story continued, "I could not be more proud of you...but pls don't leave me. I can't wait to watch you do big things in life. Seriously tho how am I gonna live w out u 24/7 in my room.”

Although it looks like Schnapp is headed off to college next fall, it’s unclear what that’ll mean for his acting career. He recently wrapped filming Stranger Things Season 4, which will premiere on Netflix in mid-2022.

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Breaking Down Taylor Swift’s Tour Setlist, Era by Era

Taylor Swift probably needs no introduction given how she’s one of the most listened-to and most influential artists in the world, breaking records left and right with everything she does. That includes the world tour she’s currently busy on, the Eras Tour—a spectacularly-crafted show that lasts more than three hours and spans the entirety of her career , from her debut album to her most recent work .

The Eras Tour kicked off last March in Glendale, Arizona, and officially wrapped up its first leg—the USA one—with six nights at Sofi Stadium in California, from August 3 to August 9. The very last concert, of course, finished with a bang as Swift announced the release of the newest album in her ongoing re-recording project: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is coming out on October 27. The announcement was anticipated by a series of very Taylor Swift-esque details, including her switching to blue outfits on stage and the significance of the date—her last show at Sofi was on 8/9, after all.

Still, the Eras Tour has a long way to go. 2023 will see Swift traveling through South America, with dates in Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. And once the new year arrives it will be time to go overseas—from Japan to Australia to Singapore, then a whole series of dates throughout Europe, and finishing stateside with nights in Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, and then Canada.

While there definitely might be some changes to the show for its international leg, it’s likely that the bones of the Eras Tour will remain the same. And that, of course, includes its setlist. Let’s take a deep dive into Taylor Swift’s setlist, breaking it down one era at a time.

The Lover act

The show kicks off with the section dedicated to Lover, her seventh studio album. Swift appears on stage and starts with “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” before going into “Cruel Summer”—which famously has the very first bridge of the night, as the singer herself tells the audience. Then it’s “The Man” and “You Need to Calm Down” with a whole ensemble of dancers before more stripped-down versions of both “Lover” and “The Archer.”

The Fearless act

The second act moves to Swift’s sophomore album Fearless , released back in 2008. After an obligatory costume change into something orange to represent this particular era, Swift performs “Fearless,” “You Belong With Me,” and “Love Story.” This act is also one of the shortest in the whole show.

The Evermore act

The third act takes things from country to witchy for Evermore , the singer’s second-to-last album. This era kicks off with “’tis the damn season” and continues with “willow,” “marjorie,” “champagne problems,” and ends with “tolerate it.”

The Reputation act

One of the most anticipated each night, the fourth act is dedicated to the 2017 album Reputation —which brought Swift back to the public eye after a series of scandals that threatened to end her career. Swift starts off with “…Ready for It?” and “Delicate” before “Don’t Blame Me,” which iconically transitions into “Look What You Made Me Do.”

The Speak Now act

The fifth—and shortest—act evokes Swift’s junior album, Speak Now , whose re-record was released right in the middle of the tour on July 7. The singer performs two songs—”Enchanted” and “Long Live,” which was added after the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) —while wearing a full ball gown, one of the most recognizable outfits from the entire show.

The Red act

The first song of the act dedicated to Swift’s fourth album, Red , is “22”—at the end of which the singer gives away the hat she’s wearing to a fan who is chosen in advance. Then it’s time for “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”, before she finishes the act with “All Too Well.”

The Folklore act

The seventh act is dedicated to Folklore and it’s a triumph of cottagecore. The first song when the tour started was “invisible string,” which was replaced by “the 1.” Swift continues with “betty,” “the last great american dynasty,” “august,” “illicit affairs,” and “my tears ricochet.” The final song of this era is “cardigan.”

The 1989 act

The second-to-last act of the show starts with “Style” and continues with “Blank Space,” “Shake It Off,” “Wildest Dreams,” and “Bad Blood.” At the end of this act, there’s the famed acoustics set where Swift sits down to play two surprise songs —one on the guitar and one on the piano. The surprise songs have become one of the most recurring inside jokes throughout the tour, with fans guessing what the two songs of the night will be before the show and sharing their reactions after. Fans have also been keeping track of which songs have been played, though it’s likely that the count will reset for the international dates.

The Midnights act

The final act of the show is dedicated to the most recent album Swift released, Midnights . The act opens with “Lavender Haze” and continues with “Anti-Hero,” “Midnight Rain,” and “Vigilante Shit”—with its by-now iconic blue bodysuit and chair dance choreography. “Bejeweled” also features a TikTok-inspired dance move that has gone viral, and then Swift finishes off the show with “Mastermind” and “Karma,” and a healthy dose of fireworks and confetti, as all good closings should have.

Here’s the full setlist:

• “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”
• “Cruel Summer”
• “The Man”
• “You Need to Calm Down”
• “Lover”
• “The Archer”
• “Fearless”
• “You Belong with Me”
• “Love Story”
• “’tis the damn season”
• “willow”
• “marjorie”
• “champagne problems”
• “tolerate it”
• “…Ready for It?”
• “Delicate”
• “Don’t Blame Me”
• “Look What You Made Me Do”
• “Enchanted”
• “Long Live”
• “22”
• “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
• “I Knew You Were Trouble”
• “All Too Well”
• “invisible string / the 1”
• “betty”
• “the last great american dynasty”
• “august”
• “illicit affairs”
• “my tears ricochet”
• “cardigan”
• “Style”
• “Blank Space”
• “Shake It Off”
• “Wildest Dreams”
• “Bad Blood”
• “Lavender Haze”
• “Anti-Hero”
• “Midnight Rain”
• “Vigilante Shit”
• “Bejeweled”
• “Mastermind”
• “Karma”

(featured image: Emma McIntyre / TAS23 / Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

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24 May 2022 11:14 AM

‘Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp talks season four and fan theories

As ‘stranger things’ returns for its fourth season, rolling stone uk chats to noah schnapp about playing will byers, fan theories and how his character has matured over the years.

By Nana Baah

Noah Schnapp knows what it’s like to be a Stranger Things fan. 

“I’ve only seen what you’ve seen,” he says over Zoom from the rural countryside of Alabama, where the 17-year-old has started shooting for an upcoming film. “I’ve seen little clips and it looks really good, but they haven’t sent it all finalised. It’s like, ‘I need to see more!’”

He is, of course, talking about the long-awaited fourth season of Netflix’s cult horror series, Stranger Things . We’ve both been lucky enough to see the first two episodes and although we can talk about it in vague terms only, Schnapp believes that the show has really matured in its sixth year. 

When the hit series started, Schnapp played 12-year-old Will Byers, who goes missing before it’s discovered — by his mother Joyce, played by Winona Ryder, and his geeky gaggle of friends — that he’s trapped in the mysterious twisted realm that is the Upside Down, which lurks beneath his hometown of Hawkins. Now, four seasons later, the storyline sprawls across different states and countries, taking in new characters as it does so. What’s more, the monsters are scarier and the kids are all grown up and grappling with the politics of high school.

“I’ll watch YouTube videos [of fan theories] and a lot of them are interesting and sometimes they’re actually pretty close” — Noah Schnapp

The wait for this season has been longer than previously because, like everything else in the world, even the Upside Down couldn’t remain unscathed by COVID. The cast flew into Atlanta to start their table reads of the script at the start of 2020, just before restrictions were brought in and everything came to a standstill. During that summer, Schnapp hung out with his cast mates and waited for filming to resume. “It was definitely over a year’s break for me,” he recalls. “But it was just so difficult. I think it took something like 300 days and a crazy number of hours to finish this season. It was definitely an intensive process.”

It is worth the wait, though. Not only are the episodes much longer — “Every episode is like its own movie,” observes Schnapp — but they’re being released in two halves, with the first coming onto the streaming platform on 27 May 2022 and the second half on 1 July 2022. It’s a strategy Schnapp is firmly behind.

“I’ve seen so many comments from fans saying, ‘We’ve waited two years for this. We’re gonna binge it in one day’ but then you have to wait another few years. So, I think it’s a nice way to release a show, it keeps the hype around — you know how with Euphoria , they released it weekly.” 

The long gap between seasons has left plenty of time for fans to speculate. Even before the season four trailers dropped, forums were buzzing with theories about time stamps and how Eleven gets her powers back. This activity didn’t go unnoticed by Schnapp. “I’ll watch YouTube videos [of fan theories] and a lot of them are interesting and sometimes they’re actually pretty close,” he teases. “With our show, there’s still so many unanswered questions and that’s something Stranger Things does best — it leaves you on a cliffhanger with all of those unanswered questions.”

“[The Duffers] just do a really nice job this season of tying everything in but showing our characters growing up” — Noah Schnapp

Although Schnapp has tried to get a sneak peek at what the future holds for Will Byers, he, like the rest of the show’s fans, is none the wiser. “I’m always texting the Duffers [the Stranger Things creators], like ‘What is happening?’, ‘What’s next for season five?’,” he confides. “But they keep their mouths shut.”

Having said that, Schnapp is able to give a few hints as to what fans can expect from this new season. “It’s scarier and more gory,” he says. “I haven’t seen it as graphic as this yet. It does a really great job of growing up with the characters and bringing the violence and gore that we know from Stranger Things , but also the light and the fun with the comedic relief from Dustin and the new characters. They just do a really nice job this season of tying everything in but showing our characters growing up.”

Will has certainly changed, he adds. “In season one, he was very shy and wouldn’t really come out of his shell and then he went into the Upside Down and he kind of was traumatised by that ever since. But I think it also taught him to be brave and to stand up for himself.”

Having played Will Byers for the past six years, Schnapp now has more input into his character. “Once we’re on set, we can make edits and improvise. The Duffers are super open to that, especially with costumes as well. I can say that I think Will would wear this or this.” 

Another unexpected bonus of being on the show for so long is that 80s music has wormed its way into Schnapp’s affections. The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ and ‘Africa’ by Toto were played multiple times during the first season. Schnapp has now acquired an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of the era — to the extent that even his dad is impressed. “I feel like I’ve grown up in the 80s at this point. My dad always tells me when he’s watching the show, like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re using that.’ It’s crazy how authentic [it is] and how well they do it.”

B ack in the real world, it’s no secret that being a child star can be difficult. Schnapp’s Stranger Things co-star and friend Millie Bobby Brown recently opened up on The Guilty Feminist podcast about the sexualisation she has faced since turning 18. 

As the youngest member of the core cast, Schnapp was catapulted into the spotlight at the age of 10, but he says that having his co-stars to lean on has been a lifeline. “We’re like a family at this point, I grew up with these people and we all relate and have the same story with the whole ‘being in the limelight’ situation,” he says. “I really appreciate the fan base. When people come up to me on the street, I still wonder, ‘How do they know who I am without the bowl cut?’ It’s just crazy.” 

But Schnapp wants to be known for more than being Will Byers from Stranger Things , so he is turning his attention to other projects. “I’ve always wanted to expand beyond just being an actor, maybe one day being a director, or a producer and now an entrepreneur,” he reveals.

“I really appreciate the fan base. When people come up to me on the street, I still wonder, ‘How do they know who I am without the bowl cut?’” — Noah Schnapp

In December 2021, Schnapp shared on Instagram the moment he opened his acceptance letter from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to study Entrepreneurship and Innovation this autumn. But the wheels of his business ventures are already in motion: he’s a consultant for Roll, an app that lets fans see exclusive photos and videos by their favourite creators. He has also invested in different brands and start-ups and is working on a clothing collaboration. In October 2021, Schnapp founded his own company, TBH, a snack brand that’s focused on health and sustainability. So far, they have launched a hazelnut butter, but there’s more to come.

“I love being a leader and having control over things, so launching and owning a business lets me do that,” he tells me. “I love the creative side of acting and I’m actually dipping my feet into producing projects, which is all I can say right now,” he says. “I’m still young, so I’m just trying out new things.”

Taken from the  June/July 2022  of Rolling Stone UK.  Buy it here.

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TV & Film

Noah Schnapp reveals huge detail about Will's storyline in Stranger Things 4

19 July 2019, 19:32

By Katie Louise Smith

It looks like Will Byers might have a storyline away from everyone else...

The catastrophic events of Stranger Things 3 left us with some huge changes in the town of Hawkins, Indiana. We saw the death of Billy Hargrove, the potential death of Chief Jim Hopper and we saw Joyce Byers move out of Hawkins with her sons Will and Jonathan, and Eleven in tow too.

Thanks to all THAT drama, Hawkins in Stranger Things 4 is set to look and feel completeeeeely different to the fictional town we know and love. Of course, what happens in season 4 is still a closely guarded secret. The renewal hasn't even been confirmed yet but shortly after the release of season 3, the cast were speculating about what might happen to their characters in the next instalment.

READ MORE: Finn Wolfhard says line about Will's sexuality in Stranger Things 3 had "different versions"

In an interview with ET Online , Noah Schnapp (who plays Will Byers) revealed that he already knows quite a few details about what's ahead for Will's storyline, thanks to the Duffer Brothers.

"I know that I might have a separate storyline from everyone else, so we might be filming, like, in another place," he said. "I hope he’s happy, but really, I love when he’s suffering because that’s fun to play."

Of course, we already knew that Will, Eleven, Joyce and maybe even Jonathan's storylines will look much different in season 4 because they've finally moved out of Hawkins. There's also plenty of ways in which the party could be reunited in season 4 but after Noah's comment, it sounds like Will might be on his own... AGAIN. (Also, where is Eleven in this situation if Will is separate from everyone else? Is she gonna go MIA again?)

In another interview with Entertainment Weekly , the Duffer Brothers revealed that season 4 will explore more plot lines outside of Hawkins. But what does that mean for Will?

We know that he's still able to sense the Mind Flayer but will that still be the case if he has moved further away from Hawkins and the gate? And if the gate is reopened (which we assume it somehow has, because of that Demogorgon in Russia ), will that affect him? Will he feel it?

Season 4 is likely over a whole year away (at least!) from returning to our lives and I'm already stressed. Filming for the yet-to-be-renewed Stranger Things 4 reportedly starts in October so here's hoping we manage to peep some on-location scenes so we can get an idea of what to expect.

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