‘Stranger Things’ star ominously teases that Vecna is rebuilding, not suffering

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Stranger Things 4 volume 2.

We’re now in the Vecna era of Stranger Things. We used to think that the demogorgon was the most terrifying thing that could come out of the Upside Down, then we thought it was the Mind Flayer. Now we know it is the dermatologically challenged Freddie Krueger wannabe. Vecna rose up as Eleven’s real nemesis in season four, and it seems like he’s going to continue to be a pain in the telepathic teen’s side in the Netflix hit’s fifth and final season, too.

There’s no way we’ve seen the last of Vecna, especially after an ominous hint at what’s next for the villain from Henry Creel/One himself, Jamie Campbell Bower. The former Twilight Saga star engaged in a fully spoilery chat with The Hollywood Reporter and reflected on how Vecna escapes from the kids in the season finale, complete with a Michael Myers-style disappearing act. According to Bower, he’s not so much recuperating, though, as plotting his revenge:

“I love the [licking his wounds] notion. I love the Halloween reference. There are so many great references to fantastic ‘80s horror in this season. The attic space alone reminding me so much of Hellraiser. You know when you read something and it makes you chuckle and you just go, ‘Smart.’ That was really cool. Where do I see him now? They say suffering. I say rebuilding.”

In case you missed it, the Halloween reference Bower talks about occurs during “Chapter Nine”‘s epic “Running Up That Hill” scene in which Nancy, Robin, and Steve attack Vecna in the Upside Down Creel house. Much like The Shape, he’s plied with bullets before being propelled out the window. But when the kids go look, he’s vanished. And like Myers reappeared to hunt down Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween II, Vecna’s going to be after Eleven again in season five.

Bower’s no doubt feeling pretty good about himself right about now as he’s managed to come aboard the series at such a late stage and completely take over as its ultimate villain. The fun of the role is apparently even enough to off-set the ridiculous amount of time he has to spend in the hair and make-up trailer every morning in order to transform into the monster. Although we guarantee that the wait for Stranger Things 5 to get here will be a lot more excruciating.