When it rains it pours, even in the Upside Down and currently Stranger Things creators, Mark and Ross Duffer aka the Duffer Brothers are swimming in it. Today, it was revealed that the duo behind the smash hit television series will be forming several new projects alongside Netflix and under their newly created Upside Down banner.
For fans of writing legends, Stephen King and Peter Straub, one of those projects will specifically bring the thrills as the team plans to adapt their 1984 novel, The Talisman to on-screen form. And what’s even better is that the siblings plan to work alongside Amblin Entertainment - the company owned by Steven Spielberg. To do the full roundup, we have a 1980s classic horror book written by two iconic authors being adapted to series by the team behind the greatest retro sci-fi series of our time, with a legendary director who made some of our all-time favorite movies of that decade backing it. This is going to be awesome!
For those who are unfamiliar with The Talisman, the book tells the fantastical journey of its main character, a 12-year-old boy named Jack, as he goes on a quest to find a magical stone that will cure his mother who is deathly ill. The sci-fi fantasy aspect of the book kicks into high gear when Jack travels to an alternate universe known as “The Territories” where everyone living in the “real” world has a doppleganger. Those living in The Territories are able to flip realities and go into the body of their counterparts, something that proves to be disastrous for the young man’s journey. The book is a non-stop action ride between the two alternate worlds and there’s even a werewolf!
The story is very up the Stranger Things alley, but in an interview with Deadline, Matt Duffer mentioned that the King and Straub novel is “much more fantasy” than the world of Hawkins while still packing the sci-fi and horror punch. The creation credit for this one goes to Stranger Things co-executive producer and writer, Curtis Gwinn, who we’re hoping the brothers will tap to pen parts of the script. Given his track record with the characters and storyline of Stranger Things, we would expect nothing but the best from the writer.
While we’re incredibly sad that we need to wait for the fifth season of Stranger Things to hit Netflix, it’s calming to know that the team behind it will be moving forward with several other projects including the on-screen telling of The Talisman. As of right now, no further details including a release date have been set, but stay tuned to Collider for more information.