The trailer for Stranger Things season 5 is here, revealing where Vecna has been planning his invasion of Hawkins from. The story of Stranger Things season 5 is edging closer than ever, with Netflix ramping up its marketing for the massively popular show.
In October 2025, Netflix released Stranger Things season 5’s first official trailer, offering the best look yet at the upcoming season. After the major cliffhanger of Stranger Things season 4’s ending, the battle for Hawkins finally gets underway, with the trailer showing the beginning of Vecna’s invasion from the Upside Down.
Although Vecna was holed up in the Creel House, his childhood home, in Stranger Things season 4, he has a new base of operations this time around. The trailer reveals exactly where this is, with a major Hawkins location marking the nexus of the invasion that could lead to some major Stranger Things season 5 deaths as the show comes to a close.
Stranger Things’ S5 Trailer Hints At Vecna’s Upside Down Hiding Place
The trailer for Stranger Things season 5 opens in the Upside Down. Vecna is shown prowling with his underlings, the Demogorgons and Demodogs. The building in which Vecna resides is Hawkins’ town hall, as shown in the trailer’s opening shot.
The Creel House was once Vecna’s base, but it seems he moved, potentially to avoid being captured. After all, the finale of Stranger Things season 4 saw Eleven defeat Vecna at the Upside Down version of the Creel House, with the other characters doing the same in the real-world location.
Therefore, it makes sense for Vecna to have moved his base to a more secure location. Hawkins is a fairly big town, with the town hall being a huge building. If Vecna needed to wait to begin his invasion, securing such a big building with his army would be a good way of avoiding his enemies.
Who Is Vecna Talking To In The Upside Down Version Of The Town Hall?
Stranger Things season 5’s trailer does seemingly imply that Vecna had to wait before fully enacting his plans for Hawkins and the Upside Down. The villain is heard saying, “At long last… we can begin.” This almost certainly refers to his final plans for invading the real world from the Upside Down, raising the question of who he is talking to.
Based on what has been revealed in prior seasons of Stranger Things, Vecna is likely broadcasting this message throughout the hive mind he established with the Upside Down’s various creatures. Stranger Things season 4 revealed that Vecna was the mastermind behind everything that came before it and the sole sentient being of the Upside Down.
Vecna controls the Demogorgons and Demodogs of the Upside Down using his hive mind. Therefore, with these creatures serving as his foot soldiers for the invasion of Hawkins, it stands to reason that his words in Stranger Things season 5’s trailer are aimed at them.
Hawkins Will Be Important To Vecna’s Final Battle In Stranger Things Season 5
Although Vecna’s plans for domination extend to the entirety of the world beyond the Upside Down, it is clear that Hawkins is vital to Stranger Things season 5. The entire show has centered around this town, with Vecna even living there himself as Henry Creel before being turned into Vecna when Eleven sends him to the Upside Down at the Hawkins Lab.
This further reinforces why Vecna’s base in the Upside Down is a Hawkins location. Vecna has a grudge against the residents of Hawkins, and likely the town itself, due to his traumatic past there. For this reason, it makes sense for the town to be the center point of his plan.
Not only is Vecna planning his invasion of Hawkins in the Upside Down, but the real version of the town is where his first strike takes place. The trailer for Stranger Things season 5 proves as much, with Hawkins entering a lockdown and the teases of a larger battle between Vecna’s forces, the kids of Hawkins, and the military.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
- Directors
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Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz
- Writers
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Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
