Duffer Brothers Announce Upside Down Pictures Production Company, New ‘Stranger Things’ Projects

Meredith Jacobs July 6, 2022, 2:25 pm

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Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler in Stranger Things — Courtesy of Netflix

If you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to Stranger Things — there’s only one more season — you’re in luck.

The Duffer Brothers have announced their new production company, Upside Down Pictures, for film and television projects as part of their overall deal with Netflix. Hilary Leavitt has been hired to run the company. Upside Down Pictures will “aim to create the kind of stories that inspired the Duffers growing up — 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.”

The announcement includes the slate of projects in active development at Netflix. There are two Stranger Things projects: a new stage play set within its world and mythology, produced by Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry, and Netflix and with 21 Laps as associate producer, and a live-action spinoff series based on an original idea by The Duffer Brothers, with Upside Down and 21 Laps producing. The Duffer Brothers recently spoke about the latter, with Ross noting, “the most important connective tissue, I would say, is the storytelling sensibility of it. There is story that connects to the Stranger Things world, but it really is more about how we’re telling that story.”

The Duffer Brothers are also developing an all-new live-action television adaptation of the renowned Japanese manga and anime series Death Note, an original series from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, and a series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman alongside Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Paramount Television to be created by Curtis Gwinn.

“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,” Matt and Ross Duffer said in a statement. “Hilary’s passion for storytelling is perhaps matched only by her passion for the storytellers themselves, for whom she is fiercely protective. No wonder so many writers and directors are drawn to working with her. She is a rare talent indeed, and we feel extremely grateful to have her at our side as we build Upside Down Pictures.”

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Added Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, “Matt and Ross are an exceptionally unique talent with a vision so crisp and clear. They are all about the details — it’s no accident that Stranger Things has pierced the zeitgeist to become the epic pop culture phenomenon it is today. We’re excited to continue telling new stories with them as they grow Upside Down Pictures and to welcome Hilary as creative partner.”

“I remember the first movie I saw in the theater, the first VHS tape I got for Christmas, the first international one-sheet I bid for on ebay because it was cooler than the domestic. And the first time I met Matt and Ross. All of these seminal moments have led to this ridiculously cool opportunity to build a company with the Duffer Brothers where we produce movies and television because we love movies and television,” Leavitt said. “This love is at the core of Upside Down Pictures, where we’re able to collaborate with other artists on projects across the full spectrum of genre. We all love what we do and are excited to do more and more.”

This news comes less than a week after the final two episodes of Stranger Things Season 4 dropped on Netflix. Stranger Things 4 is No. 1 on Netflix’s all time most popular English TV list with 1.15 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days.