McDonald’s Has Entered the Upside Down, and They Brought Chicken Buckets

Stranger Things Season 5 hype is officially everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. McDonald's Peru woke up one morning, looked at KFC, looked at the Hawkins kids, shrugged, and said: "Yeah, we sell chicken buckets now. Deal with it."

And I have to say, I kind of love it.

The Pollo Crujiente Bucket arrives wrapped in the iconic season one Christmas-light alphabet, which means your fried chicken is now canonically part of the Upside Down lore. I'm not sure what universe we're in where McDonald's is out here dropping buckets like it's a family-run fried chicken joint in Hawkins, Indiana, but hey, I'm not here to question timelines.

Then there's the Upside Down Burger, which, let's be real, is just a normal burger with the buns flipped… but for some reason it works. A visual gimmick? Absolutely. A delicious visual gimmick? Probably. It comes loaded with barbecue maple sauce, crispy onions, bacon, cheddar, and mayo, so who cares what direction gravity thinks the bun should be.

Peru also gets an Upside Down chicken sandwich, and Brazil went absolutely rogue with a full dessert lineup: Walkie Pie, a Scoops Sundae, and the Code Red McColosso, which sounds like something that gives you superpowers or mild regret. Possibly both.

Meanwhile, KFC Mexico has its own Stranger Menu, Doritos launched Demogorgon Dip, and Babybel rolled out Hellfire cheese because apparently every brand wants to graduate from Hawkins High this year.

At this point, the Stranger Things Season 5 promotional multiverse has no rules. If a Demodog-themed Happy Meal drops next week, I will not be surprised. I will simply accept it, drive to the nearest McDonald's, and order two.