Stranger Things Season 5 Has the Show’s Best Stephen King Connection (& It Ends a 12-Year Wait)

Over the last nine years, Stranger Things has paid homage to the works of Stephen King many times, and season 5 is set to take this to the extreme by finally ending one director’s 12-year-long dry spell. The fifth and final season of the Duffer brothers’ Stranger Things is set to hit Netflix on November 26, 2025, concluding almost a decade of supernatural adventures in the once-sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana. Stranger Things season 5 will continue a fantastic trend by referencing the King of Horror, legendary author Stephen King, in the best possible way.

While it’s unclear how the story of Stranger Things season 5 will reference Stephen King, the involvement of acclaimed director and writer Frank Darabont is the perfect connection to King for the show’s final outing. Darabont is returning to directing after a 12-year-long hiatus to helm episodes 3 and 5 of Stranger Things season 5, “The Turnbow Trap” and “Shock Jock,” respectively. Darabont’s connection to King is clear, as he has adapted and directed three of King’s stories for the big-screen, and even brought one of King’s short stories to life as his own directorial debut back in 1983.

Among the best references to Stephen King in Stranger Things are the similarities between the main cast and the Losers Club in 1986’s It, Lucas reading 1984’s The Talisman to a comatose Max in season 4, Eleven’s struggle with her powers bearing similarities to 1974’s Carrie, and many more. Even the font used for Stranger Things’ title card is practically the same as the font used on many of King’s novels. It’s hard to escape these references, and the fact that Frank Darabont seems to be a Stephen King aficionado creates the strongest connection for Stranger Things season 5.

Why Frank Darabont is So Good For Stranger Things

As a world-renowned filmmaker in the horror genre, Frank Darabont has created, written, and directed projects such as The Walking Dead, Tales from the Crypt, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and more. Darabont is perhaps best known for his Stephen King adaptations, however. He started his directing career by adapting King’s The Woman in the Room short story from 1978 into a short film. He then delivered the iconic theatrical adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, and even had a cameo appearance in 1997’s three-part The Shining TV miniseries.

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Frank Darabont’s involvement with Stranger Things season 5 brings gravitas and notoriety to the series for its final chapter. Darabont hasn’t directed anything since 2013’s crime drama Mob City, so his return to the craft for Stranger Things is hugely exciting and highly anticipated. Stranger Things season 5 will release four episodes on November 26th and three more on December 25th before releasing the grand finale, “The Rightside Up,” on December 31, 2025, and the season promises to be the most intense and dramatic instalment of Stranger Things yet.

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