Following the record-breaking release of the two final episodes of Stranger Things' Season 4, creators Matt & Ross Duffer have formed Upside Down Pictures and recommitted to Netflix with several new projects. To run Upside Down, they've hired Hilary Leavitt, a vet of BBC America and MRC who most recently ran her own Hulu-based Blazer banner. Series she helped develop include Orphan Black, Ozark, The Great and Shining Girls.
The projects:Borrowing the company name from their juggernaut series, The Duffers will continue to lean into the formula that has been a propulsive force in Stranger Things. The brothers said the new company will be guided by the goal to create the kind of stories that inspired them 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."
While their first order of business will be settling the epic good vs evil battle between Eleven and Vecna in Stranger Things' final season, the Duffers and Netflix have expanded their slate of projects for the future. They now include:
- A new live action series adaptation of Death Note, the Japanese manga and anime series originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The original focuses on a bright teenager who discovers a mysterious black notebook that gives him supernatural power over life and death, the latter caused by writing a person's name in the book. The teen becomes intoxicated with power as he decides to cleanse the world of undesirables, as a law enforcement team tries to stop him. Netflix made a film adaptation in 2017, but this will be an entirely new take.
- An original series from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance).
- A series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's 1984 novel The Talisman which the Duffers will craft alongside Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Paramount Television. Created by Stranger Things' Co-EP and writer Curtis Gwinn, The Talisman tells the story of a young man who moves between New Hampshire and an alternate world called 'The Territories' to obtain an artifact that will save his mother's life. While The Talisman shares otherworldly qualities with Stranger Things, "It's much more fantasy. It has sci-fi. It has horror elements. It has a lot of heart. It has everything that we love. And it's got the best werewolf character I think, ever," Matt Duffer told Deadline in yesterday's in-depth interview.
- A new stage play set within the world and mythology of Stranger Things, produced by prolific UK-based stage producer Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry and Netflix. Daldry, whose credits include The Crown, Billy Elliot and The Reader, will also direct. 21 Laps will serve as Associate Producer.
- The aforementioned live-action Stranger Things spin-off series for Netflix, based on an original idea by The Duffer Brothers, with Upside Down and 21 Laps producing.
Duffer Brothers Launch Netflix Shingle Upside Down Pictures; ‘Stranger Things’ Spinoff & Stephen Daldry-Helmed Stage Play Coming Along With Manga ‘Death Note’ & Stephen King/Peter Straub ‘The Talisman’ Series
Stranger Things' Duffer Brothers Netflix Shingle Upside Down Pictures Stranger Things Spinoff Stephen Daldry Play Death Note The Talisman
deadline.com
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