Within a quiet set in Atlanta, Georgia, cameras rolled and actors rehearsed for the upcoming fifth season of the Netflix original series, “Stranger Things,” but a few snapshots from filming have escaped and fans are already theorizing on the events of the upcoming season.
In October of 2025, a now deleted tweet on X was posted by an unknown account with the attachment of two images, depicting actors Finn Wolfhard and Noah Schnapp on set of the show as their characters Mike Wheeler and Will Byers. The first image contained the two just walking, likely filming or getting ready to film a scene together.
The second image, though, sparked more conversation, where the two actors are seen kissing.
Since then, the account that had posted those images has been banned from the platform, but that didn’t stop people from saving and sharing those images to all corners of the internet.
Rumors of the Wolfhard and Schnapp’s characters having romantic relations dates all the way back to season 2 of the show, back in October 2017. The pairing, most commonly known as “Byler” on the internet, has gained significant popularity from viewers after noticing the two’s dynamic throughout the show.
In minutes of the image circulating, social media platforms from TikTok to Reddit exploded with reactions. TikTok user wfkm.sfi reposting the leaked image with the caption, “BYLER WE HAVE WON!”
The video gained over 60 thousand likes and 2000 comments. Within these comments were conflicted opinions. Some users suggested that it would ruin the show completely, while others cheered for the potential of their favorite fan pairing having a chance at being real.
On the other side of social media, Reddit users on the subreddit “r/byler” have been speculating if this image is even real.
Reddit user SwiftWingsOnTheWind commented on a now deleted post from Nov. 1, stating that the photo might be a result of AI. “That is most definitely AI, the image is manipulated from the actual behind the scenes photo of Finn with a shovel and Noah next to him.”
The user then says that this “junk” was created by someone trying to manipulate fans.
These two images began to spark conversations on the morals of leaking unreleased footage and photos, and on the use of AI to spread false news and info. Even though there’s a clear divide between users on their stances of the leaked image, many long time fans of the show and the ship are holding out hope that it could be real.
With Stranger Things season 5 arriving in three parts, Volume One on Nov. 26, Volume Two on Dec. 25, and the finale on Dec. 31, fans must wait to learn the fate of the show’s relationships.
