When it comes to science fiction or purely fantasy shows or movies, creators have to often depend on CGI to bring the scenes to life onscreen. Take for example Game of Thrones. But Stranger Things has always taken a different approach to this. Another show that took this approach and shot many scenes live was Money Heist. It’s very well known how much the Duffer brothers draw inspiration from the old-school horror movies. Now they have revealed that the big bad of this season 4 of Stranger Things, Vecna, is “90% practical”.

The Duffer brothers wanted to create a more real monster

“This season what we wanted to do was go back to season 1 and actually do a monster that we could do mostly practically. And what you are seeing here is 90% practical. And Vecna throughout the season is 90% practical. We wanted a presence on set that our actors could really react to.“

In season 3, it came as a shock to many fans that the Mind Flayer was just a beach ball behind the scenes. It was Rodeo FX that added the CGI VFX effects later.

“For season 3 they were reacting to a beach ball. We wanted something that we could actually film. And I just think that makes this villain scarier and more real and tangible. And we are just really excited for people to see him this season,” he explained.

How was Vecna in Stranger Things created?

“Very little enhancement” was used to create Vecna on Stranger Things. Concept artist Mike Maher developed the monsters while Barrie Gower was in charge of the prosthetics. The latter has worked in Game of Thrones, bringing to life the Night King. He was also associated with HBO’s acclaimed show, Chernobyl.

“When we were just starting to develop ideas for Vecna, I think Chernobyl was coming out or just come out. And then we found out that he (Barrie) had also done the Night King. Well, that’s perfect because this is some sort of hybrid between two things. And he’s absolutely brilliant,” they disclosed.

Furthermore, the team has used CGI for the moving vines this season. Previously, they have used it for Demogorgons, the Star Court Mall, and even Russia’s snowy landscape.