Backrooms director Kane Parsons says he’s working on three “dream projects”, and he wore a Valve hoodie while saying so. Fans have read that as a sign of a Portal or Half-Life film, but Parsons hasn’t named any of the projects and nothing links him to Valve officially.
As reported by IGN, Parsons made the comments on The Kyle Buchanan Show. The host teased the episode a day earlier, saying Parsons would discuss life since the Backrooms film and what he’s making next. Parsons has never hidden his affection for Valve, particularly Portal and Half-Life, and he was in demand in Hollywood even before this interview. He made his feature debut earlier this year with Backrooms, a film adaptation and expansion of his web horror series, and around its release he said he’d like to make a Portal movie.
Parsons kept the details back with a joke. IGN says he described the projects as belonging to “powerful forces” and said he’d be hit with space lasers if he said too much. GameSpot adds that he also said these people can “see through walls”. Fans took that as a nod to Portal’s wall-hopping gameplay, though it’s a joke, not a confirmation.
The hoodie isn’t the only reason the theory has legs. After the Backrooms release, Parsons visited Valve’s office, which we covered in our earlier report on his visit and the Portal movie rumours. Some fans have since assumed he’s been meeting the studio to bring one of its franchises to the screen. Other outlets are more cautious. Spilled notes that no Valve connection has been confirmed and that it’s unclear whether the Backrooms follow-up is one of the three.
A Valve film wouldn’t be the first attempt. IGN notes that J.J. Abrams was working on Half-Life and Portal films and said in 2021 that his Portal project was still in development with a script in progress. Nothing has surfaced since. IGN suggests Abrams could still produce a Parsons-directed Portal film, or Parsons could assemble a new team, but that’s the outlet’s speculation. IGN also points out that his “powerful forces” remark seems less likely to describe an original idea or a Backrooms continuation.
For now, the three projects have no titles, studios or dates, and Valve hasn’t commented in anything we’ve seen. The full conversation is on The Kyle Buchanan Show, wherever you get your podcasts.
Has a Portal movie been confirmed?
No. Neither Parsons nor Valve has said a Portal or Half-Life film is in development, and Parsons hasn’t named any of his three projects.
Why do fans think Valve is involved?
Parsons wore a Valve hoodie during the interview, joked about space lasers and seeing through walls, and visited Valve’s office after Backrooms came out. He has also said he’d like to make a Portal film.
Has anyone tried to adapt Portal before?
Yes. J.J. Abrams was developing Portal and Half-Life films, and said in 2021 that a Portal script was being worked on. No update has followed.
