The Freddy Krueger horror legend voices Cosmo, editor-in-chief of Hawkins tabloid magazine “The Weekly Watcher.”

First look at Robert Englund’s *Stranger Things *comeback on Tales From ‘85 animated series (exclusive)

The Freddy Krueger horror legend voices Cosmo, editor-in-chief of Hawkins tabloid magazine "The Weekly Watcher."

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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April 22, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

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Robert Englund's Cosmo in 'Stranger Things: Tales From '85'; Englund's Victor Creel from 'Stranger Things' season 4. Credit:

Netlix; Tina Rowden/Netflix

- *Stranger Things* alum Robert Englund plays a new role on the *Tales From '85* animated series.

- EW exclusive reveals a first look at the actor as Cosmo, editor-in-chief of Hawkins tabloid magazine *The Weekly Watcher*.

- "Cosmo is fully aware of his reputation as an opportunist, but he simply doesn't care," a character description reads.

Robert Englund is back in the world of *Stranger Things* after the Freddy Krueger horror legend played Victor Creel on season 4.

Englund voices the role of Cosmo Russo, or more simply "Cosmo," on animated Netflix series *Stranger Things: Tales From '85*, as seen in **'s exclusive first-look image.

Cosmo is editor-in-chief of *The Weekly Watcher*, a Hawkins tabloid magazine that's notorious for its sensationalized, often exaggerated, and false accounts of local scandals, mysteries, and supernatural occurrences. "Mutants in the Sewers Reduce Rat Infestation" and "Swamp Monster Stole My Baby and Claimed It Was His!" are the kinds of headlines the rag runs.

Robert Englund as Cosmo in 'Stranger Things: Tales From '85'.

"Cosmo is fully aware of his reputation as an opportunist, but he simply doesn't care," according to an official character description provided by Netflix. "His focus is on the people who eagerly line up at the supermarket, drawn in by his bombastic headlines, compelling them to pick up a copy. Despite his public sensationalism, he privately believes that Hawkins is genuinely steeped in strange happenings."

*Stranger Things: Tales From '85* is set in between the events of seasons 2 and 3 in the year 1985. This places us after Eleven sealed off the gate to the Upside Down, but showrunner Eric Robles found a few "loopholes" in the story that he expanded on for his animated show, which is produced by *Stranger Things* creators Matt and Ross Duffer. Robles described his main idea as "Hawkins Lab science meets Upside Down matter," teasing, "There's a chain reaction to the creatures that are in our world and the things that are popping up."

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Englund previously portrayed Victor Creel, the father of Henry Creel/One/Vecna, in season 4, episode 4, "Dear Billy," from the mothership show. The character was falsely blamed for the slaughter of his family and thrown in Pennhurst Asylum. He attempted suicide by cutting his eyes with blades, hence his gnarly appearance.

Robert Englund gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Eric Charbonneau/Warner Bros. via Getty

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Netflix confirmed the actor's return to *Stranger Things* now as Cosmo with the release of a March trailer for *Tales From '85*. The footage also included an Easter egg to the star's body of work in the form of a Freddy Krueger cut-out, an homage to Englund's iconic role from the *Nightmare on Elm Street* horror films. Fans will see it among the belongings of Nikki Baxter (Odessa A’zion), a pink-haired, punk-rock transfer student who arrives in Hawkins during the events of *Tales From '85*.

Among the cast are Brooklyn Davey Norstedt as the voice of Eleven, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport as Max, Luca Diaz as Mike, Elisha “EJ” Williams as Lucas, Braxton Quinney as Dustin, Ben Plessala as Will, Brett Gipson as Hopper, Jeremy Jordan as Steve, Janeane Garofalo as Anna Baxter, Lou Diamond Phillips as Daniel Fischer, Alysia Reiner as Karen Wheeler, Alessandra Antonelli as Nancy Wheeler, Valeria Rodriguez as Rosario, and Jack Griffo as Jeff.

The premiere of the 10-episode, half-hour-long series debuted in theaters for one day on April 18. The show will launch on Netflix this Thursday, April 23.

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