Stranger Things Reveals First Looks at New Villains in 2026 Return

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Netflix has offered a sneak peek at Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, showcasing a variety of frightening new monsters. This animated adventure takes place between the first and second seasons of Stranger Things and seems to have found the right formula for a spin-off series. According to the show’s creator, Eric Robles, the series will be packed with “really cool monsters,” but it won’t focus on a different monster each episode. The trailer confirms this, suggesting that the threats and creatures will grow and become more dangerous as the story unfolds.

It’s really puzzling trying to figure out what’s going on in Tales from ’85. As a fan, I always thought when they closed the gate to the Upside Down, everything on that side should have died, cut off from the Mind Flayer. But Season 5 showed us Hawkins Lab was doing way more shady stuff than we knew, so maybe they were experimenting on things right when they shut the place down. Maybe some of those experiments survived and got loose. Hopper says in the trailer, “These woods hide a lot of mistakes,” and that feels so true! I’m just left wondering what these new monsters are, and what other secrets are hidden out there.

A Chitinous Scorpion-Like Creature

The trailer opens with completely new creatures, hinting at a fresh visual direction for the show. They’re small and quick, looking like scary, oversized scorpions with huge mouths. We see them around Hawkins Lab, swarming a scientist who tries to fight them off with a flamethrower. Their hard, shell-like outer layer is similar to, but noticeably different from, the monsters we’ve seen in the Upside Down before.

A Vine Creatre Akin to a Blight from Dungeons & Dragons

The next monster is shrouded in mystery, and the trailer suggests it transforms throughout the season – much like how Dustin didn’t realize the small creature Dart would become a Demodog, and eventually a Demogorgon. It starts as a mass of vines, but eventually changes into a creepy, pumpkin-like shape. It has a strong Dungeons & Dragons vibe, which fits with Stranger Things, but we haven’t seen enough to know exactly what it is. There seem to be two main possibilities:

  • A Bodytaker Plant, with the pumpkin-like head serving as a paralytic maw. If this is the Stranger Things version of a Bodytaker plant, the creatures reproduce at speed and share a form of hive mind of their own.
  • A Vine Blight, a creature that affects all plant-life within an area and mutates into dangerous new forms. Forests affected by vine blights quickly become twisted and corrupted places, and the interaction between the curse of the blight and preexisting vegetation means there are a wide range of forms.

This idea is particularly intriguing, as it could explain the wide variety of creatures shown in the trailer—and probably even more that will appear in the series. It also offers a reason why none of these creatures seem to exist in the Upside Down or the Abyss.

A Mysterious Creature in a Hallway

Okay, so we get a very brief glimpse of the next monster – just a quick shot of it in what looks like a hallway. I noticed they’re sticking with that green color scheme again, maybe suggesting this thing is connected to plants or something. What is clear is that it’s seriously imposing. It’s much taller than any person, and we see these huge claws raking across the wall – instantly making it feel like a real threat.

A Final Monster Bigger Than All the Rest

The latest creature revealed in the Tales from ’85 trailer looks a lot like the Vine Blight, which suggests the fan theory about it might be true. This one is the biggest we’ve seen so far, with a similar build and a huge mouth. A quick scene shows it using its large vines to snatch people and pull them in to be eaten. Considering its size, this creature is likely the main boss players will face at the end of the season.

Robles has suggested that Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 will feature a wide variety of monsters. If the threat turns out to be a Vine Blight, then any plants or vegetation could become dangerous and corrupted, potentially turning the whole forest into a source of trouble. We’ll find out more when the show is released in April.

What are your thoughts on the trailer for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85? Share your opinion in the comments and discuss it with other fans in the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-02 19:14