Shawn Levy, the Producer Behind Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things,’ Signs Overall Deal With Disney After Nearly a Decade
One of Netflix's most trusted hitmakers is officially expanding his empire. On September 28, Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter all confirmed that Shawn Levy and his company, 21 Laps Entertainment, have signed a multi-year overall deal with Disney's 20th Television — a move that lands roughly ten years after he first became the backbone of "Stranger Things," Netflix's flagship series, as one of its executive producers. And here's the part worth pausing on: the man who helped build Netflix's biggest show is signing with the studio house of its biggest competitor, right after the show that made him a streaming power player aired its final episode.
The Netflix chapter, to be clear, was a historic run. Levy signed an exclusive multi-year TV deal with Netflix back in December 2017, extended it in November 2020 with a film first-look added, and spent the decade delivering at every turn. "Stranger Things" ran five seasons — its fourth crossed 1.15 billion hours viewed, its fifth's Volume 1 opened to 59.6 million views in five days, the biggest English-language series launch Netflix had ever logged — and the franchise overall has topped 1.2 billion views, with 13 Emmy wins and 64 nominations to its name. Along the way, Levy also directed and executive-produced "All the Light We Cannot See" (four Emmy nominations), executive-produced "Shadow and Bone" and "The Perfect Couple," and directed "The Adam Project," which opened to 92.43 million hours viewed in its first week. Not bad for one decade at one studio.
So why does this deal matter right now? Timing. The final season of "Stranger Things" wrapped its run on New Year's Eve 2025, meaning the show that anchored Levy's Netflix tenure is complete — and yet he isn't walking away from Hawkins: Variety reports he will continue collaborating with creators Matt and Ross Duffer on the "Stranger Things" universe at Netflix, including the animated spin-off "Stranger Things: Tales From '85," whose second season just premiered on September 17. Meanwhile, his Disney relationship is already deep and growing — the new deal, which begins in October 2027, follows Levy's blockbuster work inside the Mouse House's other kingdoms: he directed "Deadpool & Wolverine," which grossed $1.338 billion worldwide, and he's behind "Star Wars: Starfighter," starring Ryan Gosling, due in theaters May 28, 2027 — plus a reported Gosling-led "Ghost Rider" film dated for July 28, 2028. In other words, the Disney-TV deal formalizes what was already happening organically: Levy has quietly become one of Disney's most valuable directors without ever holding an official title.
The people around this move make it even more interesting. Disney Television Studios' leadership — president and chief creative officer Dana Walden among them — made it clear this was a courtship, with Walden praising Levy's talent for stories that are "wildly entertaining and deeply human." Levy, in turn, called Disney a "kindred spirit" and said the new chapter "honestly just feels like home." And the Duffer Brothers connection continues even as Levy's TV home base changes, keeping the creative partnership behind Netflix's most valuable franchise intact for future projects. Ten years ago, Levy was the director of "Cheaper by the Dozen" and "Night at the Museum" reruns. Today he's the rare producer who helped Netflix define a generation of streaming — and now gets to build something new at the studio house of Marvel, Star Wars and a certain animated mouse, all while his Hawkins roots stay exactly where they are.
