Following the record-breaking success of Stranger Things season four, the Duffer Brothers have launched a new production company – Upside Down Pictures – and are developing several new projects for Netflix. These include [deep breath] Stranger Things spin-offs, a Stephen King adaptation, a new series from the creators of Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and a live-action adaptation of anime Death Note.
According to Deadline, the Death Note project will be; “a new live action series adaptation of the Japanese manga and anime series originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. Netflix made a film adaptation in 2017, but this will be an entirely new take.” The series was previously adapted into three live action films released in Japan in between 2006-2008.
“The original focuses on a bright teenager who discovers a mysterious black notebook that gives him supernatural power over life and death, the latter caused by writing a person’s name in the book. The teen becomes intoxicated with power as he decides to cleanse the world of undesirables, as a law enforcement team tries to stop him.”
One of the Stranger Things spin-offs will be a new stage play set within the same world and mythology, produced by prolific UK-based stage producer Sonia Friedman, Stephen Daldry and Netflix. Daldry (The Crown and Billy Elliot) will also direct.
The Duffers will be behind a series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub‘s 1984 novel The Talisman, alongside Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. Which given the obvious influences of both King and Spielberg on Stranger Things, feels only fitting. The Talisman tells the story of a young man who moves between New Hampshire and an alternate world called ‘The Territories’ to obtain an artifact that will save his mother’s life.
While we wait for more news on all of these exciting projects, check out our guide to the best anime series.