The Duffer Brothers Eyeing Massive Deal With Paramount Amid STRANGER THINGS Finale
Looks like Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer may be headed for a big new chapter, and it might not be at Netflix. Word is the Duffer Brothers are deep in talks with Paramount Global, now under the leadership of David Ellison and his Skydance Media, for a game-changing overall deal that would span both streaming and theatrical projects.
While nothing’s signed yet and sources caution the deal could still fall apart, this would be a major score for Paramount. It also marks what could be the first big creative move for Cindy Holland, who recently stepped in as Chair of Direct-to-Consumer.
Fans of Stranger Things will remember Holland as the exec at Netflix who first bet big on the Duffers and their 80s-set supernatural hit.
The move would bring the Duffers back into the orbit of some of their biggest champions. As they said back in 2019 when Stranger Things was renewed for its fourth season: “Ted Sarandos, Cindy Holland, Brian Wright and Matt Thunell took a huge chance on us and our show — and forever changed our lives.”
Matt Thunell, another key figure from Netflix, is now President of Paramount TV Studios and is expected to play a big role in developing streaming series under the new deal.
This all comes as Stranger Things prepares to bow out with its highly anticipated fifth and final season. The series has been a cultural juggernaut for Netflix.
In 2022, the Duffers launched Upside Down Pictures, their production company created under a Netflix overall deal. The company was built around telling genre-blending stories that resonate emotionally.
As they put it: “Stories that take place at that beautiful crossroads where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, where big spectacle co-exists with intimate character work, where heart wins out over cynicism.”
That deal gave us projects like the upcoming Netflix supernatural series The Boroughs, starring Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Clarke Peters, Bill Pullman, and Denis O’Hare, plus two Stranger Things spinoffs, an animated series (Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85) and a live-action follow-up.
Any Stranger Things universe projects already in the works would remain with Netflix, even if the Duffers move to Paramount.
The final season of Stranger Things kicks off with four episodes on November 26th, followed by three on Christmas, and wraps with a finale on New Year’s Eve.
If the Paramount deal locks in, it could mean a who new playground for the Duffer Brothers, one with a lot more room to play with theatrical releases, something they couldn’t do under Netflix.