Stranger Things is back, and with it, a lot of surprises. Star Jamie Campbell Bower breaks down his response to Vecna’s terrifying new look and impressive new powers in the series’ fifth and final season.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Bower opened up about his take on portraying Vecna in Season 5 of Stranger Things, which sees the villain return stronger and more powerful than ever before. Bower stated that he wanted Vecna to look “as badass as possible,” and that he played the role as a “very considered, calm, powerful figure.”

“I felt like I was a wrestler going into the ring, but also having those moments of release, like with the fire,” Bower noted. “Even that little moment when he pushes the flamethrower back, making sure that every single ounce of energy was going into that moment.”

Of course, not every attempt to evoke Vecna’s inherent coolness as a villain worked out on set. “There was a particular moment where I wanted to do something that was a reference to Hellraiser 3,” Bower recalled. “I did it, and I was like, ‘Did it look sick?’ And it was just silence. They’re like, ‘You might want to come and look at it.’ And it looked awful!”

Bower made his debut as Henry Creel, aka One, aka Vecna in Stranger Things Season 4 back in 2022. The earliest of the test subjects studied in the lab beneath Hawkins who was taken after killing his parents and falling into a coma, Henry proved to be relatively uncontrollable, leading Doctor Brenner to suppress his powers. During a rampage, Henry was attacked by Eleven, transforming him into the monstrous Vecna.

In Season 5, his character showed up as his human counterpart, Henry. His true form as Vecna was teased in the first episodes, before making a grand entrance in Episode 4, “Sorcerer.”

What Fans Think of Stranger Things Season 5 So Far – And What Comes Next

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The first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 made their way to Netflix on Nov. 26, much to the delight of fans across the globe after a three-year wait. The latest season finds the town of Hawkins under military quarantine after the explosive events of the Season 4 finale. While the rest of the town attempts to wait things out, the series’ core cast of characters are busy preparing for what will be their final fight against Vecna and the monsters of the Upside-Down.

Although Stranger Things is coming to a close soon, the franchise as a whole will be sticking around for at least a little while longer thanks to Netflix’s planned spinoff series. Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer recently confirmed the series’ development, stating, “Netflix, they finally know what it is. We held it. They were so frustrated. We just would not tell them. Finn [Wolfhard] guessed what it was. So he was the only one who knew.”

Stranger Things is currently available for streaming on Netflix. Episodes 5, 6, and 7 of Season 5 premiere on Dec. 25. Episode 8 premieres on Dec. 31.