Stranger Things Stars Tease Terrifying Season 4 Villain

The return of Stranger Things is finally upon us. The first half of Stranger Things Season 4 arrives on Netflix later this month, bringing an end to the nearly three-year wait since Season 3 debuted. The Season 4 trailer offered fans the first glimpse at what’s to come, not only in terms of the story for the young residents of Hawkins, Indiana, but also by revealing a terrifying new villain. The most human-like creature from the Upside Down we’ve seen to-date arrives in Season 4, a monster known only as Vecna. 

The design of Vecna is terrifying, and it seems as though the creature’s on-screen presence will be every bit as chilling. At the premiere for Stranger Things 4, Variety spoke with several members of the show’s cast about the new villain, including David Harbour.

“Vecna is a psychological horror that I don’t think we’ve really seen,” Harbour told Variety. “The Upside Down has been this wild west world where there are creatures running around, there’s violence, but we’ve never seen something as calculatedly psychologically evil as this. That’s exciting because he is a true big bad that we’ve needed in the series.”

Unfortunately, big fans of Harbour’s Jim Hopper will be disappointed to learn that the heroic sheriff of Hawkins doesn’t  to deal with Vecna on-screen. At least, not yet. 

“I don’t directly deal with [Vecna], my storyline’s a little different, but there’s a Demogorgon in a Russian prison that I got to deal with. It’s pretty terrifying,” Harbour continued.

Gaten Matarazzo, who plays fan-favorite character Dustin, also opened up a bit about the horror that Vecna brings to Stranger Things. According to the young actor, this is a kind of villain that’s completely different than the evils Hawkins has dealt with in the past.

“The craziest thing is just how new and fresh the villain feels compared to what we’ve had before,” Matarazzo said. “It’s something that brings a whole new vibe to how we deal with our villains in Stranger Things and how we will continue to do so going forward.”

Are you looking forward to seeing what Vecna has in store for Stranger Things Season 4? Let us know in the comments!

The first half of Stranger Things 4 will arrive on Netflix on May 27th, with the second batch of episodes arriving on July 1st.