‘Stranger Things’ wanted to make ‘Vecna on steroids’ for Season 5. Here’s how they did it

by

This article contains spoilers for Season 5, Volume 1 of “Stranger Things.”

People who met Jamie Campbell Bower shortly before he was cast as Vecna in “Stranger Things” might have been a little unsettled by his behavior.

Bower threw himself into preparing for the audition, becoming completely absorbed in the provided materials. These included scenes from the show, the movie “Primal Fear” from 1996, and the horror film “Hellraiser.” He then created a vision board like a detective solving a mystery, covering his walls with pictures of famous movie villains. He particularly focused on Doug Bradley’s character Pinhead, and also included Voldemort, Nosferatu, Dracula, and images from films like “The Shining,” “Insidious,” and “The Prince of Darkness.”

Bower had created a collection dedicated to the game’s villains. After all, what’s the best way to design a truly frightening creature than by taking inspiration from the most terrifying enemies already in the game?

Sitting in a “Stranger Things”-themed hotel room at the Four Seasons earlier this month, he flipped through a binder filled with reference pictures he used to keep pinned to his walls. Despite drawing inspiration from many sources, he kept coming back to Bradley’s work.

Bower described wanting Vecna to appear calm, deliberate, and precise, much like Pinhead. He emphasized that Pinhead is never panicked or retreating, always projecting an aura of immense power, which Bower found particularly appealing and strong for the character of Vecna.

Jamie Campbell Bower not only portrays the creature in Netflix’s hit show, “Stranger Things,” but also the character of Henry Creel, a man from the show’s past. The first episodes of the fifth and final season were released on Wednesday. Henry, initially seen as a young boy with extraordinary psychic powers, transforms over the course of the series. He goes from being the first child experimented on at Hawkins Lab to becoming the formidable Vecna after being exiled to the Upside Down.

Awards

He embodies traits of classic horror villains like Pinhead, Pennywise, and Freddy Krueger, and is well on his way to becoming a legendary monster himself.

Trapped in a dark, crumbling alternate dimension, he’s losing his humanity, both inside and out. His skin is burned, strange vines are taking over his body, and his left hand is severely damaged. His incredibly deep voice isn’t enhanced with effects; it’s the natural voice of the actor. In Season 4, the horrifying physical transformation of Vecna – the vines, wounds, burned skin, and unsettling movements – was achieved through impressive practical effects like prosthetics, makeup, and special appliances, rather than relying on digital manipulation.

Creating Vecna for the show was a huge undertaking that required teamwork across many departments. When he first appeared in Season 4, the team crafted a complete prosthetic suit based on initial designs, and it took about eight hours to put on actor Jamie Campbell Bower.

For the fifth season, the team behind the show wanted to create an even more terrifying version of Vecna. Barrie Gower, the special effects artist responsible for Vecna’s look, described the goal as making him “Vecna on steroids.”

Michael Maher Jr., who designed early versions of the character Vecna and oversaw visual effects, explained that the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, aimed to make Vecna more intimidating this season without simply making him larger or more muscular. They also wanted to clearly show the severe injuries he sustained in the season finale – being burned, shot, and thrown from a window.

While sculpting a new version of the character, Maher accidentally punched a hole in the figure’s chest. Surprisingly, this mistake sparked a key idea: the new Vecna could appear both more vulnerable and more dangerous. Maher explained that the vines covering the character’s body now resemble Medusa’s snakes, acting as armor around his head and shoulders.

His already frightening arm and hand—with its long, sharp claws he’d menacingly hold near his victims—can now stretch and extend like the vines from the Upside Down, as if it’s become part of them.

To create Vecna’s updated appearance in the final season, the show used a combination of physical makeup and digital effects. According to special effects supervisor Gower, this blend worked beautifully. While Vecna’s head, shoulders, and right arm were built with prosthetics, the rest of the creature’s body was created using a spandex suit printed with images from Vecna’s Season 4 design. This served as a guide for the visual effects artists. Jamie Campbell Bower also wore foam padding under his arms to help him move and stand like the monster.

According to Barrie Gower, physically transforming Vecna for the new season would have been incredibly difficult due to the complexity of his prosthetic body. Gower explained that he and his colleague, Justin Maher, spent a lot of time planning to avoid making the prosthetics too elaborate. The entire process of creating Vecna’s new appearance took around three months.

To create Vecna for Season 5, the creators used a combination of practical effects like prosthetics and makeup, along with a spandex suit. (Niko Tavernise / Netflix)

In Season 5, Will Byers (played by Noah Schnapp) has a direct confrontation with Vecna. (Photo: Niko Tavernise / Netflix)

When designing Vecna, the creators, the Duffer Brothers and Maher, took inspiration from horror villains like Pinhead and Freddy Krueger, much like the actor did when portraying the character. They were aiming for a nostalgic feel by referencing classic 80s movies, but Maher also wanted to ensure Vecna felt original and showcased his immense power. The goal was to establish Vecna as a truly frightening villain who primarily relies on his mental abilities.

Television

It’s been three years since new episodes of ‘Stranger Things’ were released. Before the final season arrives, here’s a quick recap of everything important you should remember about the show.

As the concept art for the show was developing in 2019, the Duffer Brothers contacted Barrie Gower, impressed by his work on shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Chernobyl.” Gower’s daughter was a big fan of “Stranger Things,” which made accepting the job an easy decision. Shortly after, a five-month design process began (with a brief pause due to the pandemic) for Vecna’s costume. The full outfit consisted of around 26 separate prosthetic pieces that connected to form a complete suit, much like a puzzle.

To create Vecna’s prosthetics, Gower and his team used foam latex – a light and solid material – for the larger parts, like his left arm and lower body. For his face, soldiers, chest, back, and right arm, they used silicone, which is clear and can be colored to perfectly match Vecna’s skin tone. Gower explained that blending the paint on these two different materials to look like one seamless body was difficult, but he praised the skill of his artists, many of whom are highly trained painters.

Creating Vecna involved a lot of complex work, but Jamie Bower was incredibly patient and a great collaborator throughout the process. He was dedicated, even staying up late for prosthetic application and working with the team to make adjustments during long filming days. Gower also highlighted Bower’s impressive stamina and dedication to his performance.

Bower explained the music he played during makeup – a mix of gothic folk and black metal – would become more intense as the process went on. He said that at the beginning of the several-hour application, he was cheerful and himself, but as it neared completion, he’d become increasingly withdrawn and less like himself.

According to Gower, Vecna began to take over Jamie’s voice as the process continued. Eventually, it wasn’t Jamie speaking at all, but Vecna himself.

Gower believes Jamie Campbell Bower is essential to Vecna’s success and enduring popularity as a villain. He described Bower’s performance as ‘incredible’.

Transforming into Vecna is demanding on an actor, both physically with the prosthetics and emotionally, as it requires accessing a dark mindset. However, Jamie Bower shared that portraying Henry, Vecna’s human persona, presented an even greater challenge this season.

He sees Vecna as completely without human qualities, but when portraying Henry, some humanity still shines through, even though Henry’s goals are purely malicious. In the first volume, Henry targets children in Hawkins, but unlike in Season 4 where he appears as Vecna, he initially presents himself as a friendly, well-dressed man they know as Mr. Whatsit.

As a film fan, I found what Bower said really interesting. He explained that it’s actually more unsettling to watch a character calmly let others make bad decisions than to see someone panicking. He sees it as a fascinating challenge to decide just how much of a character’s true feelings to reveal, and when to let the audience glimpse what’s really going on beneath the surface.

While creating the character of Vecna, Bower based the monster’s origins on various inspirations. However, for the character of Henry – Vecna’s human form in Season 5 – he specifically drew inspiration from the beloved television personality, Mister Rogers.

He appears harmless, but is actually dangerous. The show’s creator, Bower, hints that this deceptive side will become more obvious as the season goes on, but he’s keeping the details under wraps.

Read More

2025-11-27 14:32