Kane Parsons made one in every of 2026’s most extremely acclaimed and commercially profitable films in Backrooms, and everybody desires to know what he’ll do subsequent. Lots of people suppose he’ll make a Portal film, based mostly on Valve’s hit sequence, and his newest look has followers satisfied that is on faucet.
Parsons just lately appeared on Kyle Buchanan’s podcast carrying a Valve hoodie. Parsons is a big fan of Valve and its work, so he very properly could have been carrying the hoodie like anybody wears a bit of clothes bearing the identify or brand of their favourite factor. However others consider it was an intentional alternative by Parsons to put on the Valve hoodie to stoke the rumors of a Portal film.
Within the interview, Parsons mentioned he is engaged on three “dream tasks” proper now, and he cannot discuss them. The opposite individuals concerned would possibly “get me with their house lasers,” Parsons joked. He added that these individuals can “see by partitions,” and followers are taking that to be one other reference to Portal and its gameplay system that enables gamers to get by partitions with a particular gun.
Parsons mentioned he has “liked” taking conferences with Valve. “Beautiful individuals over there,” he mentioned.
“Is there something on the desk in any approach, form, or kind?” Parsons mentioned of his discussions with Valve. He mentioned he can be completely OK if nothing ever materializes. “It is extra having an summary, artistic dialog that would circulate in like 30 totally different instructions,” he mentioned.
Do not count on Parsons to make one other film anytime quickly, although. He mentioned he is nonetheless on the “information-collection part” and that he desires to decide on tasks that give him sufficient “mobility creatively.”
“I am not making an attempt to chew off greater than I can chew at present. I am making an attempt to select issues which might be going to drive me to find out about topics that I feel are foundational to issues I wish to find out about later in life,” he mentioned.
Parsons, who’s 21 years previous, beforehand informed Buchanan immediately that he was wanting into directing a Portal film “with numerous warning and numerous curiosity.”
In 2013, Valve introduced plans to research the potential for making Portal and Half-Life films. Star Wars and Star Trek director JJ Abrams later got here aboard to make the Portal film. Warner Bros. was making the film and employed a author. In 2021, Abrams mentioned he thought the Portal film might get made.
As issues are inclined to occur in Hollywood, nevertheless, the Portal film by no means materialized, and neither did the Half-Life movie.
Valve is thought to take its time and be selective with its tasks, and that very nature is what Parsons mentioned he likes about Valve. Parsons just lately mentioned he respects Valve’s integrity for making issues as a result of it desires to, and never simply to become profitable..
Anybody who has seen Backrooms could have seen that the movie’s creaking door sound was borrowed from Portal. Parsons has additionally mentioned Valve’s Portal sequence has been his single greatest affect creatively.
Parsons mentioned he’s so obsessive about Portal that he travels to the sport’s fictional setting in his desires. Many individuals have identified that Backrooms’ set design offers off numerous Portal vibes.
Regardless of his enthusiasm for Valve and Portal, Parsons can also be cautious about variations.
“Needing to step into another person’s view of life tends to break the preliminary level for me,” he mentioned in a current interview. “So the one ones that I might take a look at are ones which have formed my very own expertise of life a lot that I really feel like I’ve one thing to do with that dialog within the first place.”
Parsons can also be linked to gaming by his household. His father, Michael Parsons, labored at Telltale Video games and now works at Skydance.