Stranger Things is slated to finally return for a new season in October, and the content we've seen so far has teased a monster so mighty and terrifying that the Demogorgon of Season 1 might not seem so scary anymore. This Shadow Monster is so huge that it towers over Hawkins, and it seems to have some awful connection to Will. Now, Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer have revealed a little bit of what's to come with the Shadow Monster. Matt Duffer had this to say:
I think the difference [between it and the Demogorgon] is you don't really see how it's all tied together until later. But it's all connected to this singular threat which is tied into this shape that Will sees in the sky. Will is the way through which we're able to understand what's going on.
Back in Season 1, the Demogorgon made its first appearance quite early, and we got a pretty good look at it as it chased Will. Sure, we might not have seen that it didn't have a face right off the bat, but we could tell the approximate size and shape of the thing. It was a scary monster that chased terrified young boys and had strange powers. As scary as it was, there wasn't actually all that much mystery to the Demogorgon. Most of the mystery came from the Upside Down itself and the goings-on at Hawkins Lab. Judging by Matt Duffer's comments about the Shadow Monster, the same won't be true about the Season 2 big bad.
It really sounds like Season 2 is going to be a rough ride for poor Will. The kid had it bad enough at the end of Season 1 when he was coughing up Upside Down slugs and apparently flashing between realities. Now, he's apparently seeing the Shadow Monster and will serve as the way we come to understand even a little bit about what's going on with it. Perhaps that rumor about Will being the Season 2 villain has some truth to it, insofar as Will clearly has a connection with the thing.
Ross Duffer went on to explain how he and his brother approached creating the monster for Season 2:
There's an H.P. Lovecraft sort of approach, this inter-dimensional being that is sort of beyond human comprehension. We purposely don't want to go too much into what it is or what it wants.
When footage of the Shadow Monster premiered, there were immediate comparisons to the legendary monster Cthulhu from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Judging by the Duffer brothers' comments to EW, the similarities between the Shadow Monster and Cthulhu weren't mere coincidence. Their comments also indicate that we might never find out all there is to know about it. At this point, I'm just hoping all the characters we've come to know and love survive the Shadow Monster. Defeating an inter-dimensional being beyond their comprehension undoubtedly won't be easy, and somebody (or somebodies) may well bite the dust. At least Barb can't die again!
Stranger Things Season 2 will debut on Friday, October 27 at 12:01 a.m. PT on Netflix. Our fall TV schedule can help you choose what to watch in the meantime, and our 2017 Netflix premiere guide has a bunch of streaming dates to note.
