Walking Dead showrunner to direct Stranger Things final season episodes
By Renee Hansen
The Duffer Brothers Netflix original series Stranger Things debuted in 2016. Since then, the sci-fi horror drama has grown far beyond anyone's expectations. In 2025, the series will premiere its fifth and final season. The Walking Dead's original showrunner is slated to direct episodes of the final season.
Stranger Things is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana that is terrorized by an alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. The series is enthraling, gives off nostalgic vibes reminicent of Stand By Me and the like, and can be down right scary.
In December 2023, rumors circulated that Walking Dead's original showrunner, Frank Darabont, was in talks to direct Stranger Things. Recently, Darabont confirmed that he has come out of retirement, after over a decade, to direct episodes of the series during an interview with The Daily Beast.
Darabont's most recent stint as a director was in 2013 Mob City, a neo-noir crime drama he created for TNT. Based on real-life accounts of the Los Angeles Police Department, the series aired for one season and starred Walking Dead actors Jon Bernthal & Jeffrey DeMunn, and Daniel Roebuck, who starred in a TWD webisode.
The director, who has a vast background in the horror genre, is a perfect addition to the final season of Stranger Things. He is best known for his Stephen King adaptations, The Green Mile, The Mist, and The Shawshank Redemption. He was a screenwriter for the horror films A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob, and The Fly II and served as showrunner for the first and half of the second seasons of The Walking Dead.
Stranger Things season 5
Several series regulars are slated to return for the final season, 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. Amybeth McNulty, who plays Vickie, has been promoted to series regular, and Linda Hamilton has been cast in an undisclosed role. While the Duffers have stated they are resisting the addition of new characters, Netflix announced Nell Fisher, Jake Connelly, and Alex Breaux for the final season.
Most of the details for season 5 are being kept under wraps but one thing the Duffer brothers have stated is that Will is a big part and focus in the final run. The story will likely bring things full circle back to Will's journey in season 1 when he was trapped in the Upside Down.
Don't miss the final season of Stranger Things on Netflix in 2025.
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