Netflix's Stranger Things 5 brings Oscar-nominated icon out of retirement for heart-warming reason

Oscar-nominated director Frank Darabont has reportedly come out of retirement especially to work on Stranger Things 5, after he was convinced to step behind the camera for the Netflix show’s final season.

The director is best known for his adaptations of the Stephen King novels, including The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007).

Stranger Things is currently halfway through filming, with our favourite characters like Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Steve (Joe Keery), Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) all returning for a final season.

Darabont has opened up about his decision to come out of retirement to film some episodes of the epic sci-fi series, revealing it had been made for a rather heart-warming reason.

Speaking to The Daily Beast for the 30th anniversary of The Shawshank Redemption, Darabont explained why he returned to direct the Netflix show despite leaving the director’s chair all the way back in 2013.

“What really dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show,” he admitted.

“Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but Stranger Things has so much heart.”

He continued: “That positivity is something I really responded to. I haven’t missed the business but I have missed being on set with creative people…”

The director even teased taking on more work in the future, adding: “It may well be one and done, but we’ve still got time.”

It is particularly impressive that the Duffer brothers managed to get Darabont on board given that the last time he was behind the camera was for his TNT neo-noir crime drama Mob City, which ran for one season from December 4 to December 18, 2013.

The talent has also worked on other huge shows including The Walking Dead and The Shield Season 6.

While we don’t yet know exactly which episodes Darabont will direct, Matt and Ross Duffer typically write and direct the first and last episode of each season.

The first four seasons of Stranger Things are available to stream now, exclusively on Netflix.