But Paramount can offer something that Netflix can’t—or more accurately won’t—which is theatrical releases. The Duffers only have one film under their belt, 2015’s Hidden, but Paramount seems to be betting that the writer-directors have blockbuster potential.

T he Duffer brothers, creators of Netflix’s marquee hit Stranger Things, are reportedly leaving Big Red for Paramount, per Puck’s Matthew Belloni. The fact that Netflix does not want to put movies in theaters is reportedly “the deal-breaker” for the Duffers.

Hollywood’s rumor mill is spinning into overdrive as whispers grow that Stranger Things architects Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer may trade Netflix’s Upside Down for Paramount’s post-Skydance glow. The potential pact promises a fusion of streaming allure and cinematic scale,