‘Stranger Things 4’ Villain Vecna Went Through Several Makeovers Before Final Look

Stranger Things 4 introduced us to new villain Vecna, and he wears the crown of scariest bad guy yet. In volume 1, the audience learned about Vecna’s origin story and how he once lived among the rest of us. However, the monster we see is far from human, and as it turns out, the final look for Vecna went through several makeovers before VFX supervisor Michael Maher Jr. landed on his final form.

Volume 1 showed us how Henry Creel transformed into Vecna

In “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” audiences learn that Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) never died all those years ago, as his father, Victor (Robert Englund,) believed. Instead, when authorities arrested Victor for the murder of his family, they placed Henry in the care of Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine.) Henry tells Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) that he never felt like he fit in as a child. He resented everyone else living their everyday lives and took out his rage on his family using his supernatural powers. While Victor took the blame for his family’s murders, Henry actually committed them. 

When Henry asked Eleven to join him on his mission to destroy humanity, she told him no and banished him to an alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. We watched as the other world’s elements wreaked havoc on his body. The monster fans see throughout Stranger Things 4 has gnarled hands, vines slithering all over his body, and just an open cavity in the spot for his nose. While this version is scary enough, the creature’s look actually went through several iterations.

‘Stranger Things 4’ VFX supervisor Michael Maher Jr. originally envisioned Vecna with a much more insect-like look

If you feel you need more nightmares in your life, head to Maher Jr.’s website to look at some of the earlier versions of Vecna. According to Maher Jr., “The Duffer Brothers 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. I handed these designs to Barrie Gower, who made an amazing, practically sculpted suit.”

Gower’s use of practical effects managed to create one of the most frightening villains to grace our television screens in Stranger Things 4, but Maher Jr. said he went through a few different looks for Vecna before settling on the final one. One of his designs gave off an insect-like feel.

“One leaned more towards an insect. It would have been much taller. The legs and arms would have had the ability to split apart. The chest would have opened up. Would have been difficult to pull off practically,” Maher Jr. states on his site.

‘Stranger Things 4’ villain Vecna originally came with a lot more maggots

If you thought Stranger Things 4 villain Vecna’s wriggly little neck vines and excessive “wet squelching” noises were bad enough, Maher Jr. originally envisioned a lot more maggots on Vecna’s body. The disgusting little creatures would have filled the cavity where Vecna’s nose once existed.

Maher Jr. writes, “Early iterations of Vecna had maggots infesting the cavity of his missing nose as well as wriggling in the rot of his vine infected body parts.”

It’s safe to say that the final version was the perfect amount of scary – no extra maggots needed. Stranger Things 4 is currently streaming on Netflix.