According to Variety and many Hollywood publications, Matt and Ross Duffer - two brothers who are screenwriters and directors of Stranger Things, are negotiating an exclusive contract with Paramount (currently under David Ellison's Skydance Group). At the end of last week, writer Matthew Belloni ( Puck) revealed that the duo had made a choice and would officially join Paramount.
Through each season, Stranger Things shows the growing ambition of the Duffer brothers, with longer episodes, more magnificent settings and increased production costs. In season 4 alone, the reported budget was up to 30 million USD per episode. This explains why they are interested in the blockbuster industry - which is a Netflix segment that has not really succeeded due to its strained relationship with the theater system.
Netflix often releases theatrical films but does not spend much time exclusively releasing them before putting them online. This makes it difficult for the company's films to appear in major theater chains. The case of director Greta Gerwig is an example: her first Narnia on Netflix will be exclusively shown at Imax theater at least 2 weeks before being broadcast online on Christmas 2026. For the Duffer brothers, the theater screening factor was also considered the decisive factor in the negotiation process.
However, the platform will still release the final season of Stranger Things (featuring 3 parts) later this year. At the same time, it plans to launch two new projects of Duffer in 2026. The Stranger Things brand also continues to expand with a prerequited play on Broadway, a series of upcoming cartoons and a live action subsidiary project.
