As if fans weren't electrified enough by a certain Stranger Things occasion this New Year, executive producer and sometime director Shawn Levy has now dubbed the imminent series finale a "masterpiece." Season 5 Chapter 8 is titled 'The Rightside Up' and will be unleashed upon the Netflix library later today, wrapping up a genuine pop-culture sensation that's introduced phantasmagoric Stephen King vibes to a new generation.
Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of this curtain-closing episode, Levy, who recently wrapped shooting on Star Wars: Starfighter, promised that longtime Stranger Things lovers will "get an even deeper understanding of Henry Creel and Vecna" as the action unfolds. 'The Rightside Up,' which runs in at 125 minutes in length, provides "outcomes that are deeply satisfying, but many of which are completely surprising" as well. Phew.
"I just want to assure all the people around the world who have walked the long road with us for nearly a decade, this finale is what you've been waiting for. It is both informationally satisfying, but most importantly, profoundly emotionally satisfying."
Vecna's Real Plan For 'Stranger Things' Finale
Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in 'Stranger Things'
Netflix
Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower weighed in on his grotesque creature's larger plan at play heading into the epic conclusion of Stranger Things. Interviewed by Screen Rant, the 37-year-old suggested that the interdimensional villain sees himself as doing God's work, which began all the way back in Season 1 with the abduction of Will Byers.
"I would go with total annihilation and recreation of the world to how he would like it and wants it to be. It was something that he alluded to in Season 4 when he's talking to Eleven in Episode 7. 'We could remake the world, reshape it to however we see fit,' I believe is the line. And so this is his chance to destroy and build."
As far as Vecna's brand-new look goes, Campbell Bower told the same publication that it all comes down to his previous encounters with the kids of Hawkins. "The idea of it was based a little bit on the original Hellraiser, although it's different than that," he explained. "Nancy blew holes all through his body, so he more or less rebuilt his body into something stronger and hopefully cooler.
"As we saw at the end of Season 4, Vecna suffered a fall and obviously was sort of almost burned alive. My understanding of it is that the reason he looks the way he does now is a byproduct of that process. And also, just having spent more time, not in the human world as it were.
"He's become more resentful and hideous within that process and part of the world in which he was thrown into."
On crafting Vecna's horrific voice, the actor recounted starting "in a place of stress", which he eventually managed to climb out of.
"What ends up happening is your larynx closes up, your voice gets tight, and can't do s***. So when you relax more, everything opens up, you can breathe better. Everything starts to feel lower, and there you go, it starts to happen.
"I credit where credit is due, it came from Doug Bradley as Pinhead. That's where I was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to start there, and then make sure that I can put all my emotions, feelings, resentments into that.'"
Pinhead is, of course, the Cenobite leader from the Hellraiser franchise, also referred to as the Hell Priest.
