After two years of waiting, the first Stranger Things Season 4 trailer finally arrived. Teasing the new season and upping the ante, there was something for everyone in this trailer. But the biggest revelation perhaps came afterward, when the Duffer Brothers revealed in an interview courtesy of IGN that the big bad of the season was named Vecna. To some, the name itself might mean nothing, but to others, it is a familiar name that strikes fear into them. This revelation is also a big clue to what this new season will be about.
So who is Vecna? What does his presence mean for the upcoming fourth season of Stranger Things? And more importantly, what can we learn from those clues that the Duffers have revealed?
For Dungeons and Dragons players, the name Vecna is one of familiarity. In D&D lore, Vecna was a once-powerful wizard who became a lich after becoming undead. He was eventually destroyed, with only his left hand and left eye surviving his death. Over time, even after being killed, he achieved godhood, but his hand and eye remained missing, becoming powerful relics for those adventurers who would seek to wield them for themselves. Probably one of the best villains in all of Dungeons and Dragons, Vecna has been used ever since the first edition of the game. He has evolved over the years, but the main idea of the character has stayed the same. Vecna was made even more famous to a broader audience when he was revealed to be the big bad in Critical Role’s first campaign, "Vox Machina."
Stranger Things has never shied away from taking from Dungeons and Dragons lore to create monsters and stories. It is heavily inspired by the tabletop game, but it is doubtful that Vecna will 100% be the one that many worldwide players know. Like the Demogorgon in Season 1, it is fair to assume that Vecna won’t be precisely what we know from the roleplaying game. While the design of Vecna, from what we have seen, seems to be in line with what we have learned about the villain in D&D lore, it is safe to assume that things will differ.
But what can we expect from this new villain? Vecna will be the biggest threat the group has faced yet. In the realm of D&D, the lich is the type of monster you want to avoid. The Duffer Brothers have said that they hope to create this new villain in the vein of these horror figures that we have seen in horror movies for a long time, citing Freddy Kreuger, Pinhead, and Pennywise as inspiration. Bringing in an already-iconic villain from a game that the show has taken inspiration from since the beginning is a wise choice, and potentially something that has significant implications on the season as a whole. On top of that, mixing it with horror elements from the ’80s and ’90s makes it scarier and presumably, more dangerous.
The trailer revealed some information about where the characters are and what might lie ahead of them. Now, it is a simple trailer, and there may be plenty of misleading edits, but from what we can gather, Vecna will be this presence that will influence a lot of things in Season 4. If the show's inspirations are just a tiny hint, Vecna will be formidable and not easily beaten, a threat that will need all the characters to come together even to have a chance at defeating him.
The fact that, according to the Duffer Brothers, 90% of what we see of Vecna on the screen is practical is a throwback to the original season and what made this show such a success. They have also described this season as their Game of Thrones, and some parallels could be drawn with the long wait between Seasons 3 and 4, but the artist who created the Night King is also the one behind Vecna’s appearance on the show: prosthetics designer Barrie Gower.
We might only know the name Vecna and the history of using such a name, but a lot of speculation is already swirling around the creature's origins and what threat he might pose to our favorite characters. Until then, one can only wait until May 27, when the first half of Stranger Things Season 4 finally returns.