It's official. Matt and Ross Duffer, best known for creating megahit show Stranger Things, have entered a four-year-long exclusive deal with Paramount Studios for creating films and TV shows.
The agreement, which is expected to emphasize “ambitious” and “large-scale theatrical films,” will begin after their deal with Netflix ends on April 2026. The official announcement was made by Paramount and their parent company Skydance after several reports surfaced about them leaving Netflix. All the projects that they will be working on with Paramount, will be backed by their production company Upside Down Pictures and their producing partner and president of the company, Hilary Leavitt.
In a statement, the brothers expressed excitement to join the Paramount family and said that it was their "lifelong dream" to bring "bold, original films to the big screen". "And to do so at a studio with such a storied Hollywood legacy is a privilege we don’t take lightly. We’re also excited to reunite with our friends Cindy and Matt, who were among the very first to believe in us and an unusual little script we wrote that became Stranger Things. They took a chance on us in 2015, and they’re taking a chance again – we can’t wait to create new stories together," they noted.
They also heaped praise on Netflix and said, "Our time at Netflix has been incredible. Ted, Bela, and Peter have given us the kind of creative freedom and support that artists dream of but so rarely receive. A decade in, they are family. We’re excited to continue collaborating – not only on the upcoming release of Stranger Things 5, but also on shows we’re deeply proud to be producing, including Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and The Boroughs. And we look forward to building out the future of Stranger Things together – there are many more stories to tell beyond Hawkins, and we can’t wait to share them."
Although their Netflix partnership is coming to an end, they will continue to remain as executive producers for The Boroughs, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and any Stranger Things-related show at Netflix. Their projects at Paramount will focus on completely new themes and stories.
The Duffer brothers are currently awaiting the release of the fifth and the final season of Netflix's Stranger Things. It is scheduled to release in three volumes, with the first volume premiering on November 26, the second volume premiering on Christmas, and the finale releasing on December 31.