Backrooms director Kane Parsons says he is working on three different “dream projects,” which has caused no end of speculation regarding a possible collaboration with Valve.
When speaking on The Kyle Buchanan Show, Parsons confirmed he has three “dream projects” currently in the works, all while wearing a Valve hoodie. The young director has made no secret of his love for Valve, particularly Portal and Half-Life.
Earlier this year, Parsons made his big-screen debut with Backrooms, a film adaptation/expansion of his highly popular web horror series. Ever since then, he’s been a hot commodity in Hollywood. The filmmaker expressed interest in making a Portal movie around the time of Backrooms’ release, which excited fans.
Tomorrow, Kane Parsons comes on The Kyle Buchanan Show to talk about life since the BACKROOMS movie and what he’s working on next. Tune in for the full conversation wherever you watch or listen to podcasts! https://t.co/qu2F31jw1h
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) October 27, 2026
Following the release of his debut film, Parsons visited Valve’s office, which has led some to believe that he’s been actively meeting with the developer to bring their IP to life. This wouldn’t be the first try at adapting Valve’s franchises, as J.J. Abrams was attempting to bring Half-Life and Portal to the big screen. Abrams said in 2021 that he was still developing Portal, and that a script was being actively worked on. However, no one has heard anything since then.
It’s possible Abrams could help produce a Portal film from Parsons, or that Parsons could band together a new creative team. Either way, given the filmmaker’s experience and love for Valve’s IPs, he’d be a great fit. Whether or not Portal or Half-Life are part of these three “dream projects” remains to be seen, but he did note that they belonged to “powerful forces.” He joked that he would be hit with space lasers if he said too much about them, something that doesn’t seem as likely if it were an original IP or a continuation of Backrooms.
