Warning: Mild SPOILERS lie ahead for Stranger Things season 5, volume 1!With two seasons of terrorizing Hawkins and its central characters onscreen, Vecna has proven to be the most intense Stranger Things villain of them all, and he was inspired by a classic horror villain. Introduced in season 4, Vecna begins killing seemingly random people in Hawkins with a combination of horrific visions and brutal telekinetic powers. As the season progressed, it was revealed he was the original experiment subject of Dr. Brenner, Henry Creel, and behind all of the Upside Down’s attacks on the town after being sent there by Eleven years earlier.
Stranger Things season 5 sees Jamie Campbell Bower returning to reprise his roles of Vecna and Henry, with the latter appearing as an imaginary friend to Nell Fisher’s Holly in order to lure more kids for his plans. The former, on the other hand, has regained his power after being nearly defeated by the combined efforts of Steve, Nancy, Robin and Eleven. Appearing in volume 1’s ending, Vecna reveals he is looking to attach a certain number of children to his hive mind in order to begin turning the real world into that of the Upside Down.
In honor of the show’s return, ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan interviewed Jamie Campbell Bower to discuss Stranger Things season 5. Before diving into the reason behind his return, the star looked back to his original concept book for Vecna and the way his villain has evolved since he first began playing the character.
Chuckling as he admits he has to “be cautious about what I can give away,” Bower explained that when he first auditioned for the series, he was given two sets of script sides, the first of which was from Clive Barker’s Hellraiser adaptation, while the other was from the Richard Gere and Edward Norton-starring Primal Fear:
And then I was given some dummy sides for the show, and I was asked if I wanted to meet Matt and Ross. When I was asked if I wanted to meet Matt and Ross, I started making this folder, which started with Will Byers in the middle and then kind of spread out from there. A bit of Stranger Things here and there, and then it started to go into other horror icons that we know and that we love.
Quipping that this extent of preparation came “before I even know who the character was” and being based on “just two pages of sides,” Bower still found himself taking the concept book to his first meeting with the Duffer brothers. While he couldn’t recall whether he actually showed the Stranger Things creators the preparation vision, he did tease that audiences will have to “wait and see” how his knowledge of the character has changed.
Turning to discussing the creation of Vecna’s very specific voice, Bower surprisingly revealed it’s “actually more relaxed than it is stressful” to create, given the hoarse nature of it. Describing having “started in a place of stress” for the harsh tone of Vecna’s voice, the Stranger Things star explained that if one maintains that approach to their voice, “your larynx closes up” and “your voice gets frightened,” leaving a person unable to “do s–t.“
As he went on to explain the importance of said relaxation in creating Vecna’s voice, which led to him being able “to breathe better” and reach lower notes, Bower also said “credit where credit’s due, it came from Doug Bradley as Pinhead,” further cementing that, despite some comparisons to A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Freddy Krueger, he’s actually based on Barker’s iconic horror character:
That’s where I was like, “I’m going to start there, and then make sure that I can put all my emotions, feelings, and resentments into that.” As a fan of the show, I felt like [the finale] was a very fitting end to a story that I know and love.
Be sure to dive into some of our other Stranger Things season 5 coverage with:
Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 is now streaming on Netflix, with volume 2 premiering on December 25, and the finale event on December 31.
Release Date
2016 – 2025-00-00
Network
Netflix
Showrunner
Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Directors
Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz
Writers
Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
