A previous chat with “Stranger Things 4” special makeup effects and prosthetics artist Barrie Gower detailed the extensive process it took to transform actor Jamie Campbell Bower into the season’s villain, Vecna. Netflix recently shared a timelapse video showing just how much meticulous prosthetic work it took to bring the character to life.

For the Mind Flayer’s five-star general, Vecna, the Duffer brothers sought Gower to create their practical effects-driven, Freddy Krueger-inspired villain.

Gower said of the painstaking process, “It used to be like a marathon, and it was like this well-orchestrated pattern of four of us in the team. It’d be myself, Duncan Jarman, Mike Mekash, Eric Garcia, and then Nix Herrera joined us towards the end of the shoot. But we’d have this very orchestrated sort of dance we’d do around Jamie. He would start sitting down, and we’d stand him up. Then we’d lie him down on his front, on a massage table, flip him over onto his back, stick his front pieces on, stand him up, put his legs on, put his right arm on, and put his left arm on. The quickest that we got the application time down to six hours, 21 minutes. We would spend the best part of five hours just purely gluing the appliances onto his skin. Then we’d have an hour and a half of airbrushing and joining all the dots together with the paintwork and airbrushing veins and blending everything.”

The war with Vecna is only heating up, so expect to see a lot more from the character in Volume 2.

watch Jamie Campbell Bower transform into Vecna in this timelapse from STRANGER THINGS 4 pic.twitter.com/TuNAqrkGZI

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 15, 2022

Here’s the official plot synopsis for Season 4…

“It’s been six months since the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time – and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier.

“In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down.”

“Stranger Things 4” will be returning to Netflix on July 1 with the final two episodes of the season, including a season finale that will run a massive 2-PLUS HOURS LONG.