Matt and Ross Duffer could have another movie in their future. The duo, collectively known as the Duffer Brothers, is best known for creating the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. The sci-fi fantasy series, which is set in the fictional Hawkins, Indiana during the 1980s, premiered in 2016 and has two seasons in Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched seasons of all time.
The upcoming Stranger Things season 5, which concludes on December 31, 2025, will mark the end of the flagship series. Though the franchise will continue with spinoffs such as the animated series Tales From ’85, the Duffer Brothers’ involvement in these projects largely does not extend beyond executive producing them.
Now, per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, the Duffer Brothers are circling a deal with Paramount, which was officially acquired by Skydance on August 7. While this may not ultimately go through, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline‘s sources report that the current iteration of the deal includes “both streaming and features with a big theatrical component.”
What This Means For The Duffer Brothers
Should this deal go through, in addition to allowing them to explore the theatrical space in a way that Netflix never did, it could lead to the Duffer Brothers collaborating on their first feature film in more than a decade. Their last film project was also their feature directorial debut, the 2015 thriller Hidden.
Hidden followed a family (Alexander Skarsgård, Andrea Riseborough, and Emily Alyn Lind) living in a bomb shelter.
While Hidden had a cursory international theatrical release, it earned less than $400,000 by the end of its run. However, a Paramount-supported theatrical release in the wake of their success with Stranger Things would most likely have a much more prominent ad campaign and a significantly wider audience base.
Paramount has a great deal of experience with major theatrical releases across a variety of genres. In recent years, they have shepherded many hits to the screen, including the billion-dollar legacy action sequel Top Gun: Maverick, the slasher sequel Scream VI, and the Sonic the Hedgehog movies.
|
The Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise |
||
|---|---|---|
|
тιтle |
Reported Budget |
Worldwide Box Office |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) |
~$90 million |
$320 million |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) |
~$110 million |
$405.4 million |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) |
$122 million |
$492.2 million |
Another good sign for the Duffer Brothers’ future theatrical career is the fact that Hidden was well-received, even though it was little-seen. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a solidly Fresh 83% score from critics, as well as a 64% audience score on the Popcornmeter.
Our Take On The Duffer Brothers’ Potential Paramount Deal
Although Netflix has been good to Matt and Ross Duffer and continues to be (in addition to the upcoming Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, they’re executive producing the new series The Boroughs), this Paramount deal could benefit them greatly by allowing them to expand their vision to a much bigger canvas, potentially crafting some of the decade’s next huge movie hits.
