the grinch and vecna 2 Netflix/Dr. Suess

Vecna Looks Like the Grinch in STRANGER THINGS 5

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Rotem Rusak | Last updated Oct 30, 2025 6:07 PM ET

Come on, tell me you don’t see it? Vecna fully looks like the Upside Down’s Grinch in our new glimpse of him from Stranger Things 5‘s trailer; it’s kind of uncanny. Only, of course, instead of shaggy fur, Vecna is covered in malicious vines that want to kill everything. But they absolutely share the same general face shape and nose type. Even the vine and fur configuration is relatively symmetric. And we kind of bet Vecna hates Christmas, too—and that his heart is two sizes too small. Can Will Loo-Hoo help his heart to grow? We also doubt that. But we bet Vecna is about to discover the spirit of Hawkins is about more than material things as he sets out to crush their spirit and our Christmas joy.

the grinch and vecna in stranger things 5 trailer Dr. Seuss/Netflix

Listen, all we’re saying is that Stranger Things 5 will release on Christmas Day. And if you look at the facts, that makes the final season of the series become partially a Christmas special. And while the Grinch itself isn’t an ’80s movie—it came out in 1966—we bet The Party watches it all the time. Maybe, instead of looking to Dungeons & Dragons for the answers to defeating Vecna, the team should try holding hands and singing around a Christmas tree.

We jest! Still, though, there’s Santa and Krampus. What if there were the Grinch and Vecna? That’s a team-up we’d like to see. The world wouldn’t stand a chance. And now, does that make demodogs, Vecna’s equivalent of Max?! We kind of feels like it does. And we’re sure Dustin would agree.

In the end, we don’t think we’ll see Vecna find his place among the townspeople of Hawkins. More like, he’ll become a big mangled carcass. But Stranger Things 5‘s trailer is so dark, we just had to add a little levity to it.

We know we won’t be smiling wide when Stranger Things 5 finally hits our screens. But if Vecna gets a grin that just grows and grows, know we called it first.

Stranger Things 5, Volume 1 releases on November 26. Stranger Things 5, Volume 2 releases on Christmas (December 25) And Stranger Things 5, Volume 3 releases on New Year’s Eve (December 31). All episodes go live at 5pm PT/8pm ET.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

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