Let the Talent Exodus at Netflix Begin!

Netflix has been riding high for so long that the streamer may have gotten too comfortable. Granted, they still have plenty of money to throw at filmmakers, and no platform is as good at exposing movies and television shows to the masses—or surfacing under-the-radar talent (see, for instance, KPop Demon Hunters). But Netflix still won’t give most filmmakers what many of them want most: a theatrical release.

While Rian Johnson got a token release for the first Knives Out sequel, and Greta Gerwig is getting an IMAX release for her Narnia films, the exceptions are rare, which may be why the streamer has struggled to recruit — and keep — many A-list filmmakers (Steven Soderbergh and David Fincher aside).

It may also be why Netflix’s homegrown Duffer Brothers — the duo behind Stranger Things — are leaving the streamer for greener, theatrical pastures. The Duffers are now in “advanced negotiations” with the newly Skydance-owned Paramount, where they’ll have the chance to create films for the big screen. People still love watching movies in theaters, and filmmakers want their work to be seen in the best possible venues. According to Variety, the emphasis for Matt and Ross Duffer at ParaSky? SkyMount? will be on tentpoles. (Based on the runtime of some Stranger Things episodes, the Duffers are already in moviemaking mode.)

The Duffers still have plenty of obligations to Netflix, including — let’s see here — two new series set to premiere in 2026, an animated prequel to Stranger Things, and an unannounced Stranger Things spin-off. But once they’ve wrapped those, Skydance will no doubt saddle them with a Transformers movie or a Star Trek project and tell them to go to town. If they succeed, maybe they’ll even get to make an original film sometime in 2036.

Still, the biggest talent may now think twice before making lucrative deals without the promise of a theatrical release. Rian Johnson probably already regrets his for the Knives Out sequels, Doug Liman bailed on the Road House sequel for Prime Video because he wanted a big-screen release, and now that Apple finally has a theatrical hit with F1, Netflix may not be the biggest game in town for much longer — at least when it comes to movies not starring Millie Bobby Brown or Sofia Carson. But don’t worry — those 2010s Mark Wahlberg and Gerard Butler movies nobody saw in theaters will always have a home on Netflix. Four Brothers 4 Life!