Bray Wyatt’s entrance at SummerSlam as The Fiend not only featured new music, but also saw the character come out with a new lantern, this time modeled after Bray’s head, with its eyes stitched shut and a lantern placed inside the mouth.
Both the clown mask The Fiend wears and the lantern he came out with were created by Tom Savini Studios, a studio founded by the legendary horror actor, who is also known for his incredible makeup and visual effects work. Speaking to GameSpot, Jason Baker – who is credited as a supervisor by Savini on the design of Wyatt’s mask – discussed the relationship the company has with the WWE.
“[Tom Savini Studios has] been working with the WWE for almost ten years now,” Baker said. “We have a great relationship with them. We coordinate with the wrestlers to find out what they want, so we spend a lot of time on the phone with them.”
While Baker did help create most of The Fiend’s items, he was quick to give all the credit for the concepts behind the mask and lantern to Wyatt. “It’s all Bray’s brainchild,” he said. “He had these ideas, and we did some concept art, but it wasn’t really hitting home with Bray. So he got a really, really good sketch artist named Kyle Scarborough, out of St Louis, to do some concept art for him. Those sketches were awesome, and we took those and brought them to life.”
Baker and the studio also had a hand in creating the Firefly Funhouse segments for Wyatt, including the puppets, lantern, masks, and even directing them. “Firefly Funhouse has consumed my life,” Baker said. “I don’t want it to sound like I’m complaining though. I’ve had a blast working on it. It’s like a dream come true.”
Baker will likely continue to work with Wyatt in the creation of any future items, and while he might know about what’s to come for The Fiend, he has no interest in sharing it. According to him, that would ruin the fun of things, and it’s much more fun to be surprised by what Wyatt will pull off each and every week.
