How Netflix filmed 'young Will Byers' in Stranger Things opening scene

Rather than relying on a bit of imagination and makeup, Netflix had a rather interesting way of filming the opening scene for the new Stranger Things.

The first five minutes of the fifth and final season have previously released by the streamer, and now, fans can finally watch Volume One.

Taking us back to Castle Byers right at the beginning of the series, the scene confirmed a pretty big question about the Upside Down, and also gave us more of an insight of what little Will was dealing with.

But it’s not the original actor, Noah Schnapp, that’s appearing in this teaser – at least not in the true sense, anyway. Instead, the Stranger Things team put their mega budget to work and gave us something that has caused a bit of a divide among fans.

Stranger Things 5 opening scene

Available to watch on Netflix as well as on the streamer’s socials, the first five minutes of Stranger Things 5 transports us to 12 November 1983, where little Will is curled up, eerily singing ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’.

But obviously, it’s not long until we sense trouble, and a Demogorgon comes bounding in after the little lad.

Will pulls out a rifle and takes a shot, but the monster still chases him, climbing up the weird trees of the Upside Down before Will eventually crashes to the floor, unconscious.

And then, as he’s dragged to a weird-looking lair, Vecna himself appears and says: “At long last. We can begin.

“You and I, we are going to do such beautiful things together. Such beautiful things.”

As this scene shows that Will and the villain are very much bound together, it rather importantly confirms that Vecna has been around since the very beginning.

Who is ‘young Will Byers’?

To provide us with this major throwback to Will’s early days in the Upside Down, a young Schnapp's face is basically applied onto actor Luke Kokotek.

Portraying the 11-year-old in the thrilling scene, the young actor attended the LA premiere for season five, writing on Instagram that it was a ‘magical evening’.

“Truly honoured to celebrate this final season of such an unforgettable story. I mean, WOW,” his parent-managed account shared.

With Kokotek taking on the role, it’s reported that Lola VFX, an effects studio, was behind the face and hair placement that transformed him into a younger Will Byers.

Fans will know this isn’t the first time CGI has been combined with a younger body double to provide us with a character’s flashback – we had the same for Millie Bobby Brown and Eleven in season four.

And Schnapp told Deadline that he asked his co-star for some help, asking her: “How did you work with the kid when you had to do it?”

He also added that it was ‘fun’ to step into the ‘director shoes’.

“And think introspectively and reflectively of how I act and how I did act and move and breathe and turn and look and kind of relay that onto this little kid, who was so cute", he said. "It was a fun experience. It’s a little digital-looking. It’s hard to make it look perfect, but it turned out pretty well.”

How have fans reacted to the opening scene?

With season five having dropped just hours ago, these first five minutes have kept the excitement going for fans, as one wrote on X: “Now this right here, this is what we asked for.”

However, there was quite a reaction to his appearance as fans asked: “WHO DAT???”, and: “Why Does Will look like a video game character?”

One even slammed: “They gots to stop with the young ai versions of the actors.”

Others have compared him to a ‘videogame model’, but not everyone was having it: “CGI is AMAZING idc THAT IS S1 WILL BYERS.”

Another defended: “All this people commenting about he doesn’t look like Will. Is fcking CGI! The actor is grown up! Stop tweeting stupid sh*t”

While one simply put: “The cgi on his face looks kinda weird but LETS GO this scene adds so much lore.”

LADbible has contacted Netflix for comment.

Stranger Things 5 Volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix.