The Duffer Brothers are diving deeper into the Upside Down.
Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer announced the launch of their new production company Upside Down Pictures following the record-breaking success of the series, which is now No. 1 on Netflix's (all time) Most Popular English TV list. According to the streamer, viewers watched more than a billion hours following the season four premiere.
And even more content is coming down the pipeline thanks to their new company, which will oversee the production of five new projects. So what can fans expect? Well, they're creating a live-action TV show based on the Japanese anime Death Note, a TV adaptation of Stephen King's The Talisman book, a stage play set within the world of Stranger Things and a live-action spin-off series. Plus, there's another untitled show in the works.
Of course, this is just the beginning for Upside Down Pictures, which will "aim to create the kind of stories that inspired the Duffers growing up," according to a media release. "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."
Orphan Black producer Hilary Leavitt will run the company with the help of the Duffers, who wrote in a statement, "It didn't take long into our first meeting with Hilary, where we bonded over films like Jaws, Home Alone, and Speed, to know we had found a kindred spirit. Hilary's passion for storytelling is perhaps matched only by her passion for the storytellers themselves, for whom she is fiercely protective."
The Duffer Brothers previously teased their upcoming projects, including the currently untitled spin-off series, which will be greatly different from the OG show. "I've read these rumors that there's gonna be an Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) spin-off, that there's gonna be a Steve (Joe Keery) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) spin-off or that it's another number," they explained on the Happy Sad Confused podcast July 4. "That's not interesting to me because we've done all that. We've spent I don't know how many hours exploring all of that."
Although the show will be based on the Duffers' idea, they said they're going to "pass the baton" to someone so they can devote their energy to other projects, including the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
To find out more about what the Duffers have in store for the new episodes, keep reading here!
Stranger Things is streaming now on Netflix.