Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers have debunked a popular Vecna fan theory ahead of the final season. The idea goes all the way back to the first season and the figure that Will Byers sees before he's taken to the Upside Down.
Many have theorised that the individual is big bad Vecna, who wasn't introduced until season 4 – though the Duffers have set the record straight in an exclusive chat with Digital Spy.
"Will's biking and he sees a silhouetted figure in the road," Ross noted. "I've seen people claim that that's Vecna or that we went back and changed it. But that I swear was the Demogorgon.
"Back in season 1, we obviously hadn't designed Vecna or anything. We knew that there was a more sentient evil behind everything in the Upside Down, but obviously this is long before Vecna had been designed."
Matt admitted it "would've been cool if we had done it", though stressed they were "not George Lucas-ing anything" – a reference to the Star Wars creator's tendency to go back and alter his movies.
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"We're not going back and changing anything," Ross added, his brother quipping that if "you think we've done that, you're hallucinating".
Ross then teased: "I will say the lock that gets opened telepathically, the Demogorgons aren't telepathic. I'll say that much. People have noticed that."
Ahead of season 5, fans have been sharing all sorts of theories about what will happen, including who will die in the final episodes.
Elsewhere, Stranger Things has announced a new animated spin-off series called Tales from '85, which features the main kids in an adventure between seasons.
"When we started talking about, 'Is there anything else we want to do with Stranger Things?', this was one of our our first ideas," the Duffers said in a teaser clip.
"The idea was to kind of invoke an '80s cartoon. With animation there's really no limits, Eric [Robles, showrunner] and his team can just go wild. And they have."
Stranger Things season 5 drops its first part on 25 November, with part 2 on 25 December, and part 3 on 31 December.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
