Stranger Things Season 5 Villains: Here's What We Know So Far

Stranger Things is gearing up for its last ride, and it looks like Hawkins is about to get hit from every direction. Old nightmares are coming back, new ones are flapping in, and Netflix is timing the whole thing to take over the holidays.

Release plan, because yes, Netflix is stretching this out

Season 5 is split into three drops: Part I lands November 26, 2025, Part II hits December 25, 2025, and the final episode arrives December 31, 2025. So, basically: turkey, presents, apocalypse.

The big picture

The show is clearly building to one last fight with the Upside Down. Vecna is all but guaranteed to return, a new bat-centric threat is circling, and a few human antagonists are still very much alive and annoying. If you watched Season 4 and thought, wow, this is a lot, Season 5 sounds like all of that plus a winged problem set.

Vecna: the main event

Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), aka Henry Creel, was the original subject of Dr. Brenner's program back in the day, the same facility where Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) grew up. After the massacre at the lab, El overpowered him and blasted him into the Upside Down. In Season 4, he weaponized everyone's worst memories and almost killed Max. The uncomfortable twist is that Eleven once, unknowingly, helped unlock his power. Expect him to be the central threat again. Also worth remembering: Eddie died at the fangs of the demobats during Vecna's onslaught, and that trauma is still hanging over the group.

The Mind Flayer: not done yet

Vecna took the spotlight last season, but the Mind Flayer has been the big bad in the background since Seasons 2 and 3. It possessed Will, orchestrated those lovely flesh-melting Demodogs, and generally acted like the Upside Down's CEO. In the final season, it could be Vecna's ally, his competition, or something even weirder. There is still a lot we do not know about how the Upside Down actually works, which leaves the door wide open here.

Camazotz (or Camazots): the new bat god on the block

Episode 7 is titled "Escape from Camazotz."

That episode title is doing a lot of heavy lifting. In Dungeons & Dragons lore, Camazotz is a powerful underworld entity. In Mayan mythology, Camazotz is tied to bats, night, death, and sacrifice. And if that is not enough, there is also a planet called Camazotz in A Wrinkle in Time that gets swallowed by a shadowy force. Put those together and you get a pretty clear vibe: bat deity, bad news.

Fans are already guessing that Camazotz could be some evolved version of the demobats that tore through Season 4 (and killed Eddie). If the show goes full bat-god, that is a genuinely new flavor of threat, not just another Demogorgon with a different hat.

Demogorgon: classic monster, possible encore

The very first creature we met back in Season 1 might not be done. With the Upside Down bleeding into Hawkins and more gates opening, the Demogorgon could come back either as Vecna's muscle or just another problem the gang has to punch through on the way to the boss fight.

The humans are still a mess

Not every threat has tentacles.

Derek Turnbow is the name floating around casting sites for a new kid who bullies other kids, likely in the 8 to 10 range (per The Direct). He even shows up in the teaser behind Mike with a pack of younger kids. Is he Vecna-level evil? No. Could he cause a ridiculous amount of trouble at exactly the wrong time? Absolutely.

Colonel Jack Sullivan (introduced in Season 4) survived that helicopter crash, which means he is almost certainly coming back either to hunt Eleven again or to get a reality check when things in Hawkins go completely sideways.

And while Dr. Martin Brenner died in Season 4, Matthew Modine has teased the possibility of more Brenner in some form. Flashbacks, files, the fallout of his experiments—his fingerprints are still all over this story, and his legacy could matter in the endgame.

• Vecna (introduced Season 4): Henry Creel/001, blasted into the Upside Down by Eleven; nearly killed Max; tied to the demobat chaos that killed Eddie; likely the central villain.
• Mind Flayer (introduced Season 2): possessed Will; built the Demodogs in Season 3; could be Vecna's ally or rival in the final season.
• Camazotz/Camazots (new in Season 5): teased by the Episode 7 title; a bat-linked underworld entity from D&D and Mayan lore; possibly an evolved form of the demobats.
• Demogorgon (introduced Season 1): the OG monster; could return as a minion or standalone threat with new gates opening.
• Derek Turnbow (new in Season 5): a young bully spotted behind Mike in the teaser; small human problem with big chaos potential.
• Colonel Jack Sullivan (introduced Season 4): survived the helicopter crash; still chasing Eleven or forced to face the bigger picture.
• Dr. Martin Brenner (introduced Season 1): dead, but his influence is not; a return via flashbacks or fallout is on the table.

So what are we actually walking into?

One last blowout in Hawkins where the supernatural hierarchy might reshuffle in real time. Vecna versus Mind Flayer is on the board, a bat god may be incoming, human antagonists are circling, and the kids are older but not out of danger. It sounds ambitious, messy, and exactly how this show should go out.

Stranger Things Season 5 premieres Part I on November 26, 2025, Part II on December 25, 2025, and the final episode on December 31, 2025, on Netflix (US). Drop your predictions: which villain actually runs the Upside Down, and who makes it out the other side?