Duffer Brothers Sign Paramount, Tom Cruise Narrates
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- Duffer Brothers signed a four‑year exclusive deal with Paramount for feature films, television, and streaming, ending their decade‑long tenure at Netflix.
- Paramount debuted a promotional mini‑movie at CinemaCon, directed by Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise, celebrating the studio’s history and future.
- Jon M. Chu directed the sizzle video, which features a roster of Paramount‑signed talent, including James Mangold, Issa Rae, Dan Trachtenberg, Will Smith, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, Marlon Wayans, John Krasinski, Teyana Taylor, and Johnny Knoxville.
- Jerry Bruckheimer appears in the video, leaning in and saying “This is my favorite part.”
- Tom Cruise performed a real stunt perched on Paramount Studios’ water tower for the video’s finale, with his voiceover stating “The future is paramount …”
- Matt and Ross Duffer said the deal lets them work on theatrical movies, fulfilling a lifelong dream and honoring Paramount’s storied Hollywood legacy.
Why it matters: Paramount gains a proven blockbuster‑building team for theatrical releases, while Netflix loses a marquee creator that helped drive its streaming success, shifting the balance of original prestige content toward the studio’s big‑screen strategy and giving Paramount a fresh pipeline of high‑profile film and TV projects.
