The Duffer Brothers, creators of Stranger Things, have confirmed a four-year deal with Paramount. They’ll leave Netflix in 2026. Update 21st August 2025: Confirming earlier reports that the creators of Stranger Things could be parting ways with Netflix, writer-director-producer duo Matt and Ross Duffer have confirmed that they’ve signed a deal with Paramount. The four-year ... Stranger Things | The Duffer Brothers to leave Netflix in 2026
The Duffer Brothers, creators of Stranger Things, have confirmed a four-year deal with Paramount. They’ll leave Netflix in 2026.
Update 21st August 2025: Confirming earlier reports that the creators of Stranger Things could be parting ways with Netflix, writer-director-producer duo Matt and Ross Duffer have confirmed that they’ve signed a deal with Paramount.
The four-year contract will see them make “large-scale theatrical films” for the Hollywood studio, in partnership with Cindy Holland and Matt Thunnell – both former executives at Netflix. It’s one of several moves Paramount has made following its $8bn merger with Skydance. The now cash-infused company has vowed to up the number of films it makes per year, with the Duffer Brothers’ hiring being part of that strategy.
It’s said that the Duffers’ contract with Netflix will end in April 2026.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be joining the Paramount family,” the Duffers said in a statement published by Variety. “To be part of that mission is not just exciting – it’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. 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 [Holland] and Matt [Thunell], 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.”
Time will tell what exactly the Duffers will produce for Paramount in the coming years. We’ll bring you more as we hear it.
Our original story follows…
15th August 2025: Stranger Things is nearing its end, but so too could its creators’ time at Netflix. The Duffer Brothers, who gave the streaming giant one of its biggest hits with that monsters-and-nostalgia TV series, could be about to move over to Paramount in a potentially major new deal.
According to Variety's sources, Matt and Ross Duffer are in ‘advanced negotiations’ at the Hollywood studio, and will begin developing their own brand of movies and shows for Paramount if the deal goes ahead.
Word of the deal comes days after David Ellison’s production company Skydance merged with Paramount in a deal worth some $8bn. In the wake of that merger, Paramount has announced plans to up its output of movies to 15 or 20 per year, with producers Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg intent on reviving the cinematic fortunes of the Star Trek franchise, fast-tracking Top Gun 3, and generally capitalising on the other names it has in its back catalogue, including Transformers.
The more telling part of Paramount’s post-merger strategy is its focus on cinema releases rather than streaming. After a lengthy post-Covid period where it looked as though cinemas were under threat from streaming services and shrinking exclusivity windows, several major studios now appear to be reversing course. A couple of days ago, one newly-installed Paramount exec said that streaming movies were “not a priority” at the studio. It’s a significant quote given that it comes from Cindy Holland, Paramount’s new head of streaming.
Holland is also a former executive at Netflix – it was she who gave the greenlight for Stranger Things, giving the firm one of its defining successes.
The Duffer brothers deal, assuming it goes ahead, could be seen as another statement of intent from Paramount. So far, the pair’s hits have been confined to the small screen; although their deal will also include TV shows, it’s said that the emphasis will be on tentpole movies.
Their ties with Netflix won’t be cut completely, though, at least for the next couple of years. Aside from Stranger Things, which will conclude with a fifth season this year and in 2026, the Duffers have also made an animated prequel, Stranger Things: Tales From 85, and two TV shows for the company – The Boroughs and Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.
After that, the writer-directors’ work could be destined for cinemas.
