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Stranger Things 5 Star Jamie Campbell Bower on Vecna's Evolution

Stranger Things 5 star Jamie Campbell Bower discusses how physical changes to Vecna make him more imposing and how they impact filming.

Published Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:37:03 -0600

by Tom Chang

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With parts two and three looming around the corner, we're about to come to the epic conclusion with Netflix's most successful and hyped science fiction series with Stranger Things. In their final adventure, we're going to see them take one last stand with the series' apex demon, the Vecna, played by Jamie Campbell Bower. When we last left our Hawkins heroes in season four, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) managed to banish him again back to the Upside-Down, but with part one's release, we see him emerge as an even greater threat than before, kidnapping a new round of youths to feed off of him like he did Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) in season one. Bower spoke to Variety about how his season four finale changed him.

Stranger Things 5 Costume Designer on Vecna, Mr. Whatsit, Tide & More — STRANGER THINGS 5. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025

Stranger Things 5 Star Jamie Campbell Bower on Vecna's Evolution & Changes

"This season was definitely more of a blend between practical and CG," Bower said. "On a practicality level, the face is all prosthetics, the shoulders are prosthetics, the hands are prosthetics, but everything else is a morph suit." Forging the new suit required the collaborative efforts of prosthetic makeup department head Barrie Gower, costume designer Amy Parris, and concept artist Michael Maher. Bower said that Gower told him he would no longer be in full costume during his scenes, "Vecna still has the presence that he had when I first stepped onto set — I want to make sure that I'm still large" while adding shoulder pads as well as "two large blocks in the side of the suit" so the arms "just naturally sat that little bit further away from the body" to retain Vecna's organically menacing gate.

Parris, who added three-inch rises in Bower's shoes, told Bleeding Cool, "He's now taller, more powerful, and scarier this season. It was making sure the outfit was comfortable for Jamie to wear, and then we let Michael and the VFX team do the rest." For more on the new details on Vecna, how Bower based his Vecna voice on Doug Bradley's Pinhead from the Hellraiser franchise, and how Brown helped him find his balance, you can check out the full interview. You can also check out our interview with Parris on developing Bower's new season five persona for Henry Creel in Mr. Whatsit, here. Stranger Things returns with part two on Christmas Day and the series finale on New Year's Day.

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