While season 5 of Stranger Things is preparing to bow out on November 27 on Netflix, a major event could shake up the future of the cult series. According to several consistent sources, creators Matt and Ross Duffer are in the process of leaving the platform to join Paramount+, calling into question all of the spin-off projects initially planned.
The three parts of the final season are expected respectively on November 27, December 24 and December 31, 2025. But a shadow now hangs over the post-Stranger Thingswhile Netflix clearly intended to extend the franchise with several spin-offs, including an animated series, a live action project, and an extended universe built to last. A plan that could well fall through.
The departure of the Duffers: a strategic break for Netflix
The main reason for this departure is not financial, but artistic. The Duffer brothers aspire to make films, which Netflix now refuses them. The platform has in fact chosen to no longer release its original productions in theaters, already causing tensions with directors like Greta Gerwig around the adaptation of Narnia. At Paramount, the Duffers could produce both series and films, while reuniting with Cindy Holland, ex-Netflix and new director of streaming at Paramount.
The transfer of the two flagship creators of Stranger Things towards another platform would mark a major turning point in the strategies of the streaming giants. For Netflix, this would be a loss as symbolic as it is strategic, while the firm was banking on the longevity of its exclusive universes to retain its subscribers.
What future for Stranger Things spin-offs?
This departure calls into question several projects already well advanced. The Duffers have already filmed two series planned for 2026: The Boroughs And Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen. They are also working on an animated series (Tales From ’85) unveiled at the Annecy Festival, and a mysterious live-action series remained confidential. All this content could fall under the Paramount flag or be canceled altogether.
The uncertainty is therefore total. Without its creators, Netflix could be forced to abandon the entire Expanded Universe of Stranger Thingsdespite its status as a phenomenon series since 2016. The platform would then be faced with a loss of image, but also with a creative void that is difficult to fill.