Frank Darabont, the director behind “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Mist,” is returning from retirement to direct episodes of the final season of “Stranger Things”…
Legendary director Frank Darabont is ending his retirement to take a trip to Hawkins, Indiana.
The man who brought films like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Mist” to life is now set to come out of a self-imposed hiatus to direct episodes for the final season of “Stranger Things,” which is expected to wrap up production sometime at the end of 2024.
Darabont hasn’t stepped behind the camera since 2013 when he directed several episodes of the TV series “Mob City” and prior to that he developed the TV adaptation of “The Walking Dead.” He hasn’t directed a film since 2007’s “The Mist,” which was his third move adapting material from Stephen King.
According to Darabont, the reason he decided to end his retirement to work on “Stranger Things” came down to his love for the show and the uplifting story at the center of the Netflix series.
“What really dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show,” Darabont told The Daily Beast. “Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but Stranger Things has so much heart. That positivity is something I really responded to.”
Returning to set to film “Stranger Things” definitely felt like familiar territory for Darabont but does this mean he might return to the director’s chair again in the future?
“I haven’t missed the business but I have missed being on set with creative people… It may well be one and done, but we’ve still got time,” Darabont said.
The final season of “Stranger Things” will see several famous faces directing episodes including longtime producer and director Shawn Levy — who just celebrated his latest film “Deadpool & Wolverine” crossing over $1.3 billion earned at the box office — and of course the show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer.
There’s no word yet when the final season of “Stranger Things” will debut but the show is mostly like returning sometime in late 2025 or early 2026.
