In the wake of last weekend’s record-breaking release of the two final episodes of Stranger Things‘ fourth season, the sci-fi horror series’ creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, have revealed they have formed Upside Down Pictures. Through their new production company, the writer-director-producers have committed to continue working with the drama’s streaming service, Netflix, on several new projects, Deadline is reporting.
The new production company from the filmmakers, who are collectively known as The Duffer Brothers, takes its name from their Emmy Award-winning show’s alternate dimension, which exists parallel to the human world. The duo have hired Hilary Leavitt, who previously worked at BBC America and MRC, and most recently ran her own Hulu-based Blazer banner, to help them run Upside Down Pictures.
With the upcoming projects at their new company, The Duffers Brothers will continue to rely on the formula that has helped make Stranger Things such a cultural phenomenon. The brothers said Upside Down Pictures will be guided by their goal to create the kind of stories that inspired them while they were growing up. The stories will “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.”
Besides working on the upcoming fifth season of Stranger Things, which will be its last, The Duffer Brothers and Netflix have already announced several of the other projects they plan on developing together in the future. Those projects include a stage play adaptation of the Golden Globe Award-nominated series.
The stage play will be set within the world and mythology of the television show. Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry and Netflix will serve as producers, and 21 Laps will act as the play’s Associate Producer. Daldry is also set to direct the stage adaptation.
Upside Down Pictures and Netflix are also set to work on a new live action series adaptation of the Japanese manga, Death Note. The anime series was written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata.
The franchise focuses on a bright teenager who discovers a mysterious black notebook that gives him supernatural power over life and death. He can control when a person dies by writing their name in the book. The teen becomes intoxicated with power as he decides to cleanse the world of other people he deems to be undesirable to society. However, a law enforcement team quickly starts working to stop him.
Netflix previously adapted the manga and anime series into a live action movie it released in 2017, which starred Nat Wolff as the teenager. The film was directed by Adam Wingard, who’s also known for helming such genre features as Godzilla vs. Kong, Blair Witch and You’re Next.
The Duffer Brothers and Netflix’s planned television series reboot will offer an entirely new take on the franchise, however. It will be unrelated to Wingard’s movie.
Upside Down Pictures’ future projects are being developed after Stranger Things Season 4 became Netflix’s all-time most popular English television project. The season has accumulated 1.15 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days, making it only the second show to cross the billion mark for Netflix.
Season 4 also became the biggest premiere weekend ever for an English language television series on Netflix with 286.79 million hours viewed. It also hit the top spot in 91 countries for the streaming service, and became the most viewed season of an English language television show in a single week for the company, with 335.01 million hours viewed.
“Matt and Ross are an exceptionally unique talent with a vision so crisp and clear,” said Netflix co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “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.”