There’s a lot to unpack in the new Stranger Things Season 5 trailer, so it’s easy to overlook a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that may be teasing a brand new villain – one even scarier than Vecna.
In the fifth and final chapter of the hit Netflix series, the Hawkins gang are united once more with one shared goal: find and kill Vecna. It’s not going to be easy, especially as the town’s under military quarantine.
As the government intensifies its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding, Vecna’s whereabouts are currently unknown. What happens next is anyone’s guess, with fans busy sharing their theories about what will go down (and who will die).
Even though the monsters in Stranger Things all built to Vecna, one theory suggests that there may be a bigger bad that’s been teased from the start: Thessalhydra.
Stranger Things Season 5 trailer may be hiding secret villain
The theory goes that Thessalhydra, a fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons, will be Season 5’s main villain. A number of fans spotted a clip in the trailer with a series of four D&D figurines in front of Mike – including one that looks suspiciously like the multi-headed beast.
Cast your mind back to the Season 1 finale. After Eleven saves the gang from the Demogorgon, Will is back from the Upside Down and enjoys a game of D&D with Mike, Lucas, and Dustin.
Mike reveals that they’re under attack from Thessalhydra, which Will defeats with a fireball. Given the parallels the game has had to the characters’ real-life battles, it’s intriguing that the monster hasn’t made an appearance yet.
There have been other hints along the way. For instance, Will’s painting for Mike in Season 4, which shows the group fighting a multi-headed dragon.
D&D makes another appearance in the Stranger Things Season 5 trailer, with Eleven telling Mike, “This isn’t like one of your campaigns.”
However, Mike and co. continue to use D&D to map out their plan, with a brief shot showing him speaking to the entire gang. “We end this once and for all, together,” he says.
A number of eagle-eyed fans have spotted that the center figurine looks just like Thessalhydra. Taking to X/Twitter, one wrote, “I’ve not seen ANYONE talking about this in the new trailer but look! LOOK AT THE TABLE!
“We have our D&D figures of the party and a suspiciously familiar dragon figure in the middle… We really ARE fighting the Thessalhydra this season!”
“William Byers, the prophet you are,” they added, sharing a screenshot of his painting. “If the Thessalhydra appears, it’s the name that they give the Spider Monster,” another theorized.
A third added, “Since Vecna learns from the experiences I don’t think he gets affected by fire now. He probably found a way to prevent it. I expect the fireball to be against a Demogorgon or Thessalhydra.”
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