After a slam dunk ending to Stranger Things season 4, the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross, are keeping the momentum going. They will get started on the final season of Stranger Things this August after a much-deserved rest, but that’s not all they have going for them. In a brilliant move to keep the most popular creators in television right now, Netflix has created a new label for the Duffer Brothers: Upside Down Pictures.
Named after the parallel world from the show that solidified their popularity, the label under Netflix will include several new projects. There will be an original Stranger Things spinoff series in addition to season 5 of the original. They will also be taking on an adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s 1984 novel, The Talisman. This is especially impressive because they will be working with Stephen Spielberg, who bought the exclusive adaptation rights before the novel was even published. Spielberg seems to believe that the Duffer Brothers are the trusted hands necessary to bring the book to the screen.
Other projects include a new live-action Death Note series based on the popular Japanese manga and anime, an original show from the creators of Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and a new stage play that utilizes the Stranger Things lore. While the brothers are busy writing a proper end to Stranger Things, the label will be spearheaded by Hilary Leavitt. She has developed shows like the amazing clone sci-fi show Orphan Black and even Ozark. The label will be in good hands.
It is especially exciting to see talented and passionate people be given a space to create in. And the Duffer Brothers have a vision for Upside Down Pictures projects. They want to create “stories that take place at that beautiful crossroads where the ordinary meets the extraordinary, where big spectacle co-exists with intimate character work, where heart wins out over cynicism,” as they told Deadline. With how good Stranger Things is, we can’t wait to see more of their work.
