‘Stranger Things 4’ Early Concept Art Shows Vecna Was Originally Way More Terrifying

Stranger Things Season 4 introduces the Netflix show’s newest villain: Vecna, a human-turned-monster who has lurked in the Upside Down for years. The Freddy Kreuger-like character kills Hawkins teens in the most gruesome way after haunting them with horrific visions and infiltrating their minds. And though Vecna’s burned skin and penchant for bone-snapping are terrifying enough already, early Stranger Things 4 concept art has revealed that he once looked like serious nightmare fuel.

The ‘Stranger Things 4’ concept designer shared terrifying Vecna art

Michael Maher Jr., the concept artist behind Stranger Things 4, recently updated his website to document Vecna’s transformation. Apparently, the monster’s final look was just one of many considered designs. According to Maher, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer “wanted something that was inspired by Nightmare on Elm Street and Hellraiser while still existing in the Upside Down design language and the Dungeons and Dragons theme.”

One of Maher’s Vecna designs had more of an insect-inspired look. The body could split and open up. However, Maher ultimately thought that would be too complicated from a practical effects standpoint. Meanwhile, other options had no eyes and teardrop-shaped heads, similar to an alien. Maher said these “ended up feeling a little too much like the Predator.”

Maher also played around with a vampire look — pale and rotting skin, exposed teeth, and white eyes. Another piece of Stranger Things 4 concept art imagined Vecna as something straight out of Creepypasta, with a lanky body, pinpoint eyes, and a wide smile. The designer also created a sharp, scaly version of Vecna “inspired by a prehistoric fish called a ‘Dunkleosteus.'”

Some other qualities Maher considered were tentacles, a cloak, and maggots in Vecna’s noseless face. Any of these early designs would have been horrifying in their own ways, but Vecna’s final look seems the most fitting for the Upside Down.

How Vecna’s final look came to life in ‘Stranger Things 4’

After landing on the Freddy Kreuger-inspired design, Maher passed the concept art to makeup company BGFX and its founder, Barrie Gower. BGFX then got to work creating prosthetics for Vecna. As Gower told Den of Geek, the Duffer Brothers approached him because of his work on Game of Thrones and Chernobyl. In particular, they wanted a combination of Game of Thrones’ Night King and Chernobyl’s radiation burn victims. He said:

“They were looking for an iconic character and it was going to be their first (monster) who was more humanoid in form, less creature-like as such as some of the previous creations had been. And they wanted to achieve something as practical as possible in-camera. Ideally they were looking at an actor in prosthetics who could interact with the rest of the cast and would be there for them to film in front of the camera every day.”

With Jamie Campbell Bower cast as Vecna in Stranger Things, it was time to hit the makeup chair. It took about seven to eight hours each day to become Vecna. The process included latex molds, aluminum extremities, and layers upon layers of makeup.

Jamie Campbell Bower terrified his castmates while in his Vecna costume

Even without a creepy smile or alien-like features, Campbell’s Vecna look still managed to terrify the Stranger Things cast. Millie Bobby Brown was so scared that she started to cry.

“They brought [Brown] up into a position where she’s bound,” Campbell recently told Variety. “I walked up to her [as Vecna], and she burst into tears. She wouldn’t look at me, and she was visibly just disgusted by the whole thing.”

Stranger Things 4 is now streaming on Netflix.