Holly and Karen in Stranger Things season 5©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
By
Rianna de Bono-Smith
Published 34 minutes ago
Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 6 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with.
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Stranger Things season 5, volume 1 has been released, and fans are already leaving their theories, reviews, and opinions about the four episodes, including why they think it closely resembles the horror smash-hit released earlier this year titled Weapons.
Social media is abuzz with the latest four episodes of the final season of Stranger Things, but more recently, it’s been drawing comparisons to Zach Cregger’s Weapons, which premiered earlier this year and currently holds an impressive 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Fans have reacted on social media, particularly X, regarding the revelation that both stories are a lot more closely aligned than initially believed.
The comparisons are led by the plot of Stranger Things' main antagonist, Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell Bower), as he kidnaps children to pump them full of an unknown substance to strengthen the psychic bond between himself and the children. He repeats this process with Mike and Nancy Wheeler's little sister, Holly, as shown in Volume 1.
Vecna's kidnapping of children is very similar to the plot of 2025’s Weapons, which shows the main antagonist, Aunt Gladys (played by Amy Madigan), kidnapping children to harness their energy so she can heal herself by draining their life force. Gladys was revealed to be a parasitic witch and kidnapped the children by holding them hostage in a basement, similar to Vecna keeping children in his lair and mindscape.
Vecna holding Will Byers face in Stranger Things season 5 part 1
Both Stranger Things and Weapons are dark and psychological, with strong elements surrounding a small town in chaos, with children at the forefront of the danger. Weapons also play into the nostalgia, similar to Stranger Things, and both lean heavily on the 80s. Both narratives center around a quiet community led into disarray by an unknown dark force.
Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers also cite Stephen King’s work as being a big inspiration to the creation of their series. Weapons director Cregger said he took inspiration from the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson.
Dark magic and possession are at the forefront of both Weapons and Stranger Things, leading fans and critics alike to draw the same conclusion that if you like one…you’ll certainly enjoy the other. The movie and series are also widely respected for breaking records, earning awards, and achieving high ratings for their wild, dark, and twisted narratives. Obviously, both are successful, but it's clear the similarities are purely coincidental.
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10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction Release Date 2016 - 2025-00-00 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer Directors Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Andrew Stanton, Frank Darabont, Nimród Antal, Uta Briesewitz Writers Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
7 Images
Eleven looking into an opening of the Upside Down with pink light in Stranger Things season 1
Jim Hopper (David Harbour) grabbing Jonathan's (Charlie Heaton) shoulders in Stranger Things season 1©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
Eleven with cables all over her head in Stranger Things season 4
Vecna looking towards Will in the trailer for Stranger Things season 5 (2025)
Max and Eleven in Stranger ThingsNetflix
Stranger Things season 2, episode 2 "Trick or Treat, Freak".MovieStillsDB
The Upside Down in Stranger Things season 5Courtesy of Netflix Close
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Millie Bobby Brown
Jane 'Eleven' Hopper
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