Duffer Brothers on ‘Stranger Things’ finale and future following blockbuster Paramount deal
The Duffer Brothers announced that their production company, Upside Down Pictures, is set to exit Netflix for an exclusive, four-year deal with Paramount, covering movies, streaming projects, and television, starting in August. Now, for the first time since the blockbuster deal, the Stranger Things auteurs Matt and Ross Duffer have opened up about the same, including the hit Netflix show’s future.
At Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit in Los Angeles, the Duffer Brothers clarified that their move rides on their desire to release future films in theatres. “When Matt and I were talking about what we want to do next, it really came down to we wanted to do a movie, specifically an original movie – a big original film, Ross Duffer said, doubling down on the theatrical significance.
He explained that they hadn’t consciously looked after a new deal since they are still deeply involved in the post-production of Stranger Things, which is set for a three-part release starting in November. In fact, Paramount approached them, and the probability of theatrical distribution had them on their toes. “It’s just something we dreamed about since we were little kids,” he added.
Although the brothers want to make original movies, Matt Duffer also expressed enthusiasm towards existing IPs within the Paramount banner that they “really respond to.” Speaking on the overwhelming number of IPs flooding the market, he said, “I like IP that was botched. Someone swung and missed. Then you have an opportunity to do it properly.”
The Duffers additionally stressed that they don’t plan on becoming producers of a large chunk of shows or films because they believe they can’t handle that many things. But what they want to do is what 21 Laps co-head Shawn Levy did by producing Stranger Things, despite their lack of experience in television. “We like identifying really talented people and then just helping them get their vision made and then mostly staying out of the way,” Matt Duffer added.
Besides original movies, Upside Down Pictures will also make television projects for Paramount instead of classic network shows for CBS with “eight-to-ten-episode seasons,” having grown tired of “20-episode seasons.” Neither of them was interested in them. If anything, they were proper cinephiles while growing up, which is an irony because, despite their lack of interest in television, they ended up there. This is why they aim to produce more event series like Stranger Things.
According to Matt Duffer, the buildup of these types of series is everything. The Duffer Brothers still have two series coming up next on Netflix in 2026: The Boroughs and Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. Meanwhile, Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, the animated series, which stems from their nostalgia for Saturday morning cartoons, is also on the way. Moreover, they are also expected to helm a Stranger Things spin-off for Netflix as executive producers.
“We want to make sure that if we’re gonna do it, it’s something that we’re very excited about,” Matt Duffer continued. As for what awaits the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, the brothers were tight-lipped to prevent spoilers. However, Ross Duffer teased that the season premiere will directly open into the characters’ tailing Vecna. Matt Duffer further added, “Episode 4 and Episode 8 are like movies. Every runtime I’ve seen posted online is inaccurate.”
They also spoke about the post-production process, and the thing they last shot comprised no Stranger Things cast. “We had a close-up of a lunchbox, and we could not find it for the life of us. It’s like a GI Joe lunchbox and there’s a blinking red light,” he continued. But following some debates between the crew and the editorial team about whether the scene was actually shot, they had to return and do the close-up again. “That was the last shot we ever shot on Stranger Things, a lunchbox on the floor.”