After a Decade-Long Hiatus, Frank Darabont is Back with Stranger Things

In 1986, Stephen King's novella "The Body" was turned into one of the most beloved movies to come out of the 80s, "Stand by Me." The director, Rob Reiner, was on the hunt for more material and offered Frank Darabont $2.5 million for the rights to "Shawshank Redemption." Darabont was tempted. It was a substantial sum for someone who still hadn't made it big, and he didn't hate Reiner's ideas.

Ultimately, Darabont rejected Reiner's offer, opting to take a pay cut in exchange for the opportunity to direct a project he'd long dreamed of seeing on the silver screen. This leap of faith and willingness to pull up his sleeves and challenge himself paid off in spades.

Not initially, though. Frank Darabont must have been disheartened when 'The Shawshank Redemption' bombed at the box office. The prison drama struggled at the box office in 1994, overshadowed by 'Forrest Gump' and 'Pulp Fiction. But it redeemed itself in U.S. homes and became the most rented VHS of 1995.

"The Shawshank Redemption" garnered Oscar and Golden Globe nominations in the process, with Morgan Freeman's performance and Darabont's screenplay particularly lauded. The film holds the coveted top spot on IMDb's Top 250 movies in history, thanks to high stakes, gut punches, and a cathartic, satisfying ending of poetic justice.

Darabont backed up the feat with more critical and commercial success resulting from 1999's "The Green Mile." Another King adaptation and prison drama that got Oscar buzz, this film highlighted Darabont's capacity for powerful storytelling reflecting on the human condition and cemented his heavyweight status in Hollywood.

By the early 2000s, Frank Darabont was a renowned auteur known for exploring themes like resilience, friendship, and hope amidst despair. His creative output, not unlike that of Stephen King's, was rich with meaning and allegory. He'd also cultivated a reputation for loyalty, frequently collaborating with the same folks behind and in front of the camera.

For example, in 2001, the feature film "The Majestic" starred Laurie Holden, who would go on to star in 2007's "The Mist." These two films didn't end up having the same cultural cachet as Darabont's first two works as a director, but the former was something of an homage to Frank Capra. The latter was seen as a notable addition to the horror movie genre.

After considering how to adapt the cult-classic comic 'The Walking Dead,' Darabont pitched the idea to NBC before AMC gave him the green light. Inspired by 1968's "Night of the Living Dead," Darabont's goal was to pull zombies out of the shadows of pop culture with elevated narratives and finesse. He co-created the series with the comic book creator Robert Kirkman and was the showrunner.

Despite behind-the-scenes challenges, the first season of 'The Walking Dead' exceeded expectations, drawing over five million viewers per episode. But for Darabont, it was all downhill from this point.

 

After feeling like the rug had been pulled out from under them, Frank Darabont and his agents at Creative Artists Agency took a page out of the American playbook and sued AMC for breach of contract. Dodgy accounting was excluding Darabont and his associates from significant profits.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Darabont was entitled to get as much as 10 percent as the show's co-creator. Bear in mind that at its peak, the series he'd got off the ground drew in more than 17 million viewers.

The bitter lawsuit with the network spanned almost a decade, and in July 2021, AMC finally settled. Darabont and CAA walked away with a hefty figure, and the case influenced profit structuring in the TV industry and streaming landscape. Today, buyouts are more common, and the backend offers less for creatives.

The 2010s were a weird time for Frank Darabont. They began on a high note, with the promise of what "The Walking Dead" could become, before he got the chop in July 2011.

After the initial shock, Darabont hit the reset button and created the neo-noir series "Mob City," which came out in 2013. Jon Bernthal, who played Shane in "The Walking Dead," had told Darabont that he would follow him anywhere and took on the lead role in the new venture.

The series received favorable reviews, if not commercial success. Michael Wright, TNT's former head of programming, said the network was keen to collaborate with Darabont, even in the midst of the zombie apocalypse saga, which had branded him "difficult to work with." For Wright, Darabont is someone with a voice, a priceless commodity, so even though the show was canceled after a single season, he had no regrets about his choice.

When the dust settled on "Mob City," Darabont called time out and took an extended break. Some saw it as an unofficial retirement. His filmography barely moved an inch for ten years but for a few script doctoring jobs. He wrote scenes for the 2014 "Godzilla" movie and walked away from projects like the Snow White and the Huntsman prequel as a result of creative differences.

Working on "Stranger Things" may well have whet the appetite of Frank Darabont. After his Netflix episodes air, those who hold the purse strings in Hollywood and beyond will likely remember just what he's capable of, and then there's no telling what audiences could be treated to in the future.

Will he cook up more scares, return to period dramas, make cameos in Entourage-like shows like he's done before, or go back to the mummy sarcophagus from whence he has sprung? In interviews, Darabont has mentioned being proud of a Civil War script that currently lacks funding, so there's something concrete to potentially look forward to.

From the cinematic triumphs of "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile" to the genre-defining success of "The Walking Dead," Frank Darabont's career has been nothing short of extraordinary. Known for his ability to adapt complex stories with emotional depth, he's given audiences unforgettable moments of hope, resilience, and humanity.

Now, as he steps back into the director's chair for "Stranger Things," anticipation is building for what he will bring to the series' final chapters. Though his episodes are yet to air, Darabont's decision to emerge from quasi-retirement speaks to his enduring passion for storytelling.

With whispers of a Civil War script and the creative spark reignited, the next chapter in Darabont's storied career could be his most compelling yet. For now, his legacy as a visionary filmmaker continues to inspire both fans and peers alike.