Fans of the Netflix original sci-fi drama Stranger Things are facing the bittersweet truth that the series will conclude in 2025. The eight-part fifth season will close out the story created by the Duffer Brothers for the streamer in 2016. This season Frank Darabont, the original showrunner of The Walking Dead, comes out of retirement to direct two episodes of the exciting conclusion of the series.
Stranger Things is the perfect mix of sci-fi, horror, coming-of-age, and nostalgia to draw in a widely diverse audience. The series is a flagship for the streamer that has been praised for its soundtrack, atmosphere, directing, writing and homage to the 80s pop culture and movies.
As the series enters its final season, former Walking Dead showrunner and acclaimed director, Frank Darabont pulled himself from his life of leisure in his retirement to direct two episodes. Darabont directs episode 3, "The Turnbow Trap," and episode 5 "Shock Jock."
In an interview with The Direct, the Shawshank Redemption director stated that his reasoning for stepping behind the camera once again was simply because he and his wife are huge fans of the show.
"What really dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show. 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.”"Frank Darabont
Darabont began his career as a screenwriter for horror films, including A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Blob (1988), and The Fly II (1989). He moved on to directing and is best known for his Stephen King adaptations The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007).
He has collaborated on multiple projects with actors from The Walking Dead. Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale), Melissa McBride (Carol), Sam Witwer (Tank Walker), and Juan Gabriel Pareja (Morales) also appeared in The Mist. Laurie Holden (Andrea) appeared in The Mist and The Majestic. In 2013, Darabont created a neo-noir crime drama, Mob City, for TNT, which starred Jon Bernthal (Shane), Andrew Rothenberg (Jim), and DeMunn.
Stranger Things season 5
The release date for the final season of Stranger Things has yet to be revealed, but it is speculated by many sources that the premiere could occur in October 2025. The season will see the return of many familiar faces, including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Priah Ferguson, Brett Gelman, Cara Buono, and Jamie Campbell Bower, with Amybeth McNulty promoted to series regular.
New faces for the upcoming season include Linda Hamilton (The Terminator, Children of the Corn, Chuck), Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux.
The Duffer Brothers have been careful to keep details hushed, they have shared that a lot of thought was put into the conclusion of the story. During the 2022 Netflix Geeked Week, Ross Duffer did share that big reveals are coming.
Check out these stories and more on Undead Walking:
Follow Undead Walking on Twitter (X) and Facebook, and sign up for the once-daily Undead Walking newsletter to avoid missing out on everything in The Walking Dead universe.