Stranger Things season 5 trailer has fans convinced that Will Byers will be the one to defeat Vecna in a wild full circle moment

Will and Vecna face off in the new trailer for Stranger Things 5
(Image credit: Netflix)

The latest trailer for Stranger Things season 5 has arrived, and fans are convinced that Will Byers will be the one to beat Vecna...rather than his adoptive, super-powered sister Eleven.

There are two key factors in this new fan theory: what Vecna says to Will in the trailer, and the show's overall history with Dungeons and Dragons. In the clip, Vecna (Jamie Campbell-Bower) grabs Will and says: "William, you are going to help me. One... last... time." When was the first time? Well, when the Mind Flayer possessed him in season 2 and used him as a way to infiltrate Hawkins. This is all but outwardly stated in season 4, which is when we actually meet Vecna, but he's been here the entire time. Vecna needs Will, because the two share a strange internal link. In one of the final scenes in the Stranger Things 4 finale, Will tells the gang that he could feel Vecna was still alive – badly hurt, but still alive.

"Will is 100% beating Vecna, I don’t care what anyone says, he probably has powers or something," one fan wrote. A few other commenters agreed, and this would explain Will's weird connection to Vecna.

There is also the overall trope that, because Will has been a victim of Vecna since season 1, it only makes sense for him to become the hero in season 5. “Because the story really began with Will and his disappearance, it felt, in order to go full circle, it needed to really end with him in so many ways," co-creator Matt Duffer told Entertainment Weekly.

Lauren Milici
Senior Entertainment Writer

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.