Popverse's top stories

• Marvel TV, DC K.O. an Agents of SHIELD reunion, and a new Game of Thrones show head up New York Comic Con 2025's loaded panel schedule
• Despite blistered feet and a 12-inch wig, a young girl reminded me why I only cosplay heroes like All Might and Captain America
• DC’s Tom King, Spider-Man’s Dan Slott, Transformers’ Daniel Warren Johnson and so many, many more are tabling at NYCC ‘25’s Artist Alley: Get a look at the full list right here

We all know that Stranger Things season 5 won't be the last we see of the Stranger Things universe (need we remind you of the animated series on its way?) - however, 2025 could mark a major shift in the franchise's overall direction, and not just because Eleven & Co's storyline is getting wrapped up. According to Variety, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer are negotiating a deal that we have them packing up at Netflix and heading over to Paramount Studios to develop new shows. If the deal was to go through, the Duffer Brothers would no longer be in charge of Stranger Things.

I'll give you all the time you need to process that admittedly massive possibility. When you're done, though, we should talk about the particulars of the deal. The biggest two things to keep in mind here are that A.) the Paramount/Duffer deal is not a sure thing as of this writing, and B.) that if it did go through, the Duffer Brothers would not legally be allowed to work on projects for Netflix. 

Monuments as that sounds, I do want to color this news with the fact there's already future projects Netflix and the Duffer Brothers have agreed to. I mentioned that Stranger things animated series up top, but then there's also upcoming series The Boroughs and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, both of which promise to use that patented Duffer Bros. tension to tell more stories. So even if this deal does go through, Netflix still has a couple years of Dirty Deeds Done by Duff.

Before I leave you, though, I also want to point out that it's entirely possible this negotiation will amount to, well, simple negotiating. Part of the revisiting of a creative contact involves creators asking themselves, 'How much is this company willing to pay to keep me on?' Perhaps Paramount is coming to the table with a staggering offer of creativity and compensation that the Duffer Brothers can't refuse - or, quite possibly, this could be a case of seeing how much Netflix is willing to shill out to keep them.

However it shakes out, we'll be sure to let you know.

As we all collectively wait for Stranger Things season 5, here's the keys to getting ready:

• How to watch Stranger Things in chronological or release order
• Getting to know the Stranger Things season 5 cast
• There needs to be more death in Stranger Things, says co-star Gaten Matarazzo
• The Stranger Things time jump between season 4 and 5 has been confirmed by Netflix - and it raises some serious questions
• "They land the plane," David Harbour describes the Stranger Things finale, which he calls its "best episode"