Popverse's top stories of the day

• Harley Quinn is making April Fools Day 2025 one to remember with a not-so-sweet-smelling DC comic book special
• Watch the D&D, Warhammer, Mega Man, and more anthology panel Secret Level from Prime Video, filmed at NYCC 2024
• Nintendo's long-time Mario voice actor reveals the secret behind voicing Mario's Dad in the movie (and how it goes back to his original audition decades ago)

News from the Stranger Things season five filming location has been pretty sparse from Netflix. Aside from a couple of heavily censored shots of the cast and crew from behind the scenes and the occasional update about their progress, we don’t know much about what is happening in Hawkins right now. We do, however, know who is behind the camera for the final season. In addition to Shawn Levy and the Duffer Brothers, Frank Darabont has come out of retirement to direct two episodes of Stranger Things season five.

Frank Darabont is probably best known for his work adapting Stephen King stories onto screen. He directed The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, but Darabont hasn’t directed anything since 2013. Since then, he’s been enjoying a well-earned retirement – until Netflix came calling.

“What dragged me out of retirement was that my wife and I really love this show,” Frank Darabont explained in a recent interview. Specifically, he cited the positivity behind the show’s message. “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.”

When you look at it in that lens, Darabont’s involvement makes a lot of sense. He is known for bringing an uplifting tone to otherwise dark worlds, so the companionship we’ve come to expect from the Stranger Things cast should suit him just fine. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the director is back in the business for good. “Who knows?” Darabont said when asked if this was a one-off thing or if he was pulling a Hayao Miyazaki. “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.”

Stranger Things season five is still chugging along with shooting and doesn’t have a firm release date from Netflix. We know it is due out sometime in 2025, but other than that we just have to wait and see what The Shawshank Redemption’s director brings to the climactic final season of the show.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"