‘Shawshank Redemption’ director ending 11-year retirement to direct two ‘Stranger Things’ episodes
Frank Darabont, the acclaimed director of The Shawshank Redemption has broken his 11-year retirement to direct two episodes of Netflix‘s Stranger Things.
Darabont’s return to directing was confirmed in a chat with The Daily Beast, where he confirmed that he would be helming two episodes of the hit sci-fi series for its upcoming final season.
It’s currently unclear which of the season’s two episodes he will helm, but Maya Hawke – who stars in the series as Robin Buckley – has teased that the show’s final season is “basically eight movies,” and that “the episodes are very long”.
Darabont explained his return to The Daily Beast: “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.”
However, Darabont directing two episodes for Stranger Things doesn’t necessarily mean he’s back for good – but a permanent return isn’t being ruled out either. When asked if he’s remain un-retired, Darabont said: “Who knows? 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.”
Back in May, fans were given a first look at Stranger Things season five. The show marked the halfway point of production on its final season in the summer, and the streaming platform later shared a behind-the-scenes video previewing what’s to come.
In it, we got a showcase of some of the sets, as well as voiceovers of some of the stars reflecting on their years on the show. “So I started when I was 10,” series lead Millie Bobby Brown said. “I’m now turning 20 years old. It feels very weird.”
Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield) added that they are “savouring every single moment”, while Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) teased that the “wait will be worth it”. “Season four was big, season five definitely feels bigger,” Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) further declared, before creators the Duffer Brothers teased that “this is the season fans have been waiting for”.
Filming began on the final season in January this year, having been delayed due to last year’s Hollywood strikes. Fans can expect eight episodes to wrap up the show’s story, with star Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley) recently teasing that they are “making, basically, eight movies”. “The episodes are very long,” she added.
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Surej Singh
NME
