Is Vecna not the real villain? Is Will going to be the next in-charge of Upside Down? Were all the incidents in Hawkins a figment of Mike’s imagination?
Fan theories about possible plot twists, potential shockers and the return of old characters have flooded the internet ahead of the 27 November premiere of Stranger Things Season 5 on Netflix.
Over the past nine years, the series has emerged as one of the most popular shows on Netflix, for its gripping plot, engaging climax, jaw-dropping action and subtle humour, keeping fans on the edge of their seats till the last second.
With the stakes even higher this time around and some questions unanswered from the previous seasons, we explore five of the most convincing fan theories that may prove to be true when we return to the world of Stranger Things upon its Thursday release in India.
Is everything strange in Stranger Things a figment of Mike’s imagination?
The horrors of Upside Down, sinister operations carried out by Hawkins Lab, Eleven’s (Millie Bobby Brown) combats with the monster to save her friends and the rise of Vecna: these immersive stories are what kept the fans hooked to their screens since its 2016 premiere. But a fan theory suggests all of this was nothing but a figment of Mike Wheeler’s (Finn Wolfhard) imagination.
Mike started hallucinating after Will Byers’ (Noah Schnapp) disappearance in Season 1. Many fans speculate that, in reality, Will died in the first season. A grieving Mike, who was not ready to accept his friend’s death, started to have visions about a dystopian world, where Will gets stuck, with emotional stakes, world-building, and sci-fi foundation. This theory, according to fans, stamps from a tombstone with ‘Byers’ written on it in a scene from Season 4.
What if Will is the original monster?
The trailer hints that Will may be forced to become Vecna’s puppet, potentially coming across as a secondary antagonist or ‘psychic puppet’ like he did in Season 2.
However, some fan theories suggest that Will may have been controlled by an even powerful monster all this time, even before Vecna came into the picture. As per stories of the board game Dungeons and Dragons, the most powerful villain is Tiamat, a three-headed red dragon. In the past seasons, Will drew pictures of every monster he encountered in Upside Down. The last of the paintings made by Will, surprisingly, is of a three-headed dragon.
Is Steve Harrington going to die in Season 5?
Fans are on the edge of their seats as speculation about Steve’s (Joe Keery) death are doing the rounds on the internet. One of the scenes in the latest Stranger Things trailer shows Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) breaking down in tears while hugging Steve, which suggests that there is a possibility that he is yet to take a grave step, putting his life in danger. Another scene shows a petrified Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer) washing her blood-soaked hands, crying, possibly for Steve’s death. Nancy and Steve were romantically involved in the past season.
How is Doctor Brenner connected to Vecna?
According to several fan theories, Stranger Things may offer a mind-bending twist that links Dr Brenner (Matthew Modine) and Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). Fans have noticed that Vecna’s lightning-like facial cracks mirror Brenner’s scars, and that Brenner’s death is never shown clearly on screen.
Some point out that Henry spares Brenner during the Season 4 massacre and that Brenner actually enters the Rainbow Room after El sends Henry into the Upside Down, which some believe hints at a time loop. The theory suggests that Henry’s fall warped time, transforming him and eventually sending him back into the past as Brenner — a man obsessed with stopping the very monster he will become. With Vecna’s entire aesthetic revolving around clocks, time, and distortion, fans feel the show has been dropping clues for years.
Is Eddie Munson still alive?
Eddie Munson’s death was one of the most heartbreaking moments in Stranger Things Season 4. Fans continue to brood over his sacrifice. However, many new theories suggest that Eddie may still be alive in the Upside Down and could return as Kas — a vampire lieutenant of Vecna in Dungeons & Dragons. In the game’s lore, Kas is killed by demobats and later rises to challenge Vecna.
“I don’t want anyone to overthink,” show creators Duffer Brothers told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview. “It’s fun actually when [the fans] have all these theories as to what’s going to happen. It’s fun to read them. The vast majority of them are wrong. Occasionally, someone gets something.”