Finn Wolfhard, fresh-faced monster fighter Mike Wheeler from Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” is officially all grown up. The Canadian actor recently graduated from high school, posting pictures earlier this month of his socially-distanced, coronavirus-appropriate ceremony with family and friends.

Wolfhard is also ready for the next move in his career. His “Stranger Things” stardom led to roles in horror features “It: Chapter Two” and “The Turning” as well as the lead in his first studio tentpole: “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which Sony is expected to release early next year.

But the 17-year-old actor is also going indie. He’s attached to star in “Rules for Werewolves,” a horror-thriller based on the acclaimed novel by Kirk Lynn.

Wolfhard spoke via video with The Hollywood Reporter about the appeal of playing dark characters and his feelings about having to eventually say goodbye to Mike Wheeler and “Stranger Things.”

How are you handling lockdown and how have you been keeping busy?

I’ve been good. I just graduated from high school, so now there’s a change in my life. No more school, which is great. I’ve been writing two feature movies and working on music and songs, so just writing at home, taking walks and reading. That kind of stuff. It’s been really good.

Let’s talk about “Rules for Werewolves.”

It’s based on a novel, by Kirk Lynn, who also wrote the screenplay. I think the movie is more about youth and revolt than a sci-fi or horror movie about werewolves. It’s more about youth standing up and being anarchists.

Tell me about your character, Bobert. What drew you to the role?

Bobert is a shy kid who comes from a broken home looking for a place in the world for him. I think a lot of kids relate to that.

I’m always interested in playing different kinds of characters. In the short we did, Bobert tells a story in this one long take and I thought that was interesting and great. He’s kind of nihilistic and a realistic but a very free person. It was super different so I was game from the beginning.

You’ve got several new projects coming up. But when it comes to “Stranger Things,” how do you feel about eventually saying goodbye to Mike Wheeler?

That’s really interesting. What I think is so great about “Stranger Things” is it has the Harry Potter effect — where you can see how the characters and the actors grow up over time. The character is a part of me. I think I will be ready to say goodbye but it will be bitter sweet. But we still have a lot of work to do with “Stranger Things.”

Maybe it will end up being like graduation. (SD-Agencies)