It’s often said that heroes are only as good as their villains. And certainly one of the most memorable parts of the first season of ‘Stranger Things’ was its monster. Dubbed “the Demogorgon” by the children who form the core of the show’s cast, the creature was native to the Upside Down, a parallel reality from which it would emerge to menace the denizens of Hawkins, Indiana.
So how do you follow that up? One approach is to go bigger, advice that the show’s co-creators, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, have apparently taken to heart. As seen at the end of the first season, Will is continuing to experience hallucinations of the Upside Down long after his escape. These visions include a giant, multi-limbed creature (seen above, as glimpsed in the season two trailer) that the kids will come to call “the shadow monster.” Speaking to ‘Entertainment Weekly‘, the Duffer Brothers, shared some insights into the new menace, Matt Duffer began by contrasting it with the Demogorgon:
“Our big reference for [the demogorgon in] season one was mostly ‘Jaws’. It’s a shark and the other dimension is the underwater. So there has to be something more sentient and that’s that big thing in the sky.”
The idea of a more intelligent monster certainly raises a number of intriguing possibilities, especially as a contrast to the Demogorgon’s more feral nature. Ross Duffer alluded to some of these possibilities, pointing out that there is a single threat to which the creature, Will’s visions, and who knows what else are all connected:
“I think the difference is you don’t really see how it’s all tied together until later. But it’s all connected to the singular threat which is tied into this shape that Will has seen in the sky. Will is the way through which we’re able to understand what’s going on.”
Matt further compares their approach to that of H.P. Lovecraft, describing the shadow monster as “beyond human comprehension,” and adding that they have deliberately avoided going into the details of exactly what it is and what it wants.
‘Stranger Things’ features returning stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Joe Kerry, Noah Schnapp, Matthew Modine, and Winona Ryder alongside a crew of newcomers that includes Linnea Berthelsen, Paul Reiser, Sadie Sink, Dacre Montgomery, and Sean Astin. The second season of the acclaimed supernatural drama will arrive on Netflix on October 27, 2017.
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on the second season of ‘Stranger Things’ as the show’s October premiere approaches!
