Backrooms director Kane Parsons has confirmed his meetings with Valve, but says that he has no plans to adapt any of their games if it can’t be done well.
When speaking on an October 28 episode of The Kyle Buchanan Show, Parsons wore a Valve hoodie, which prompted Buchanan to inquire about Parsons’ recent trips to the developer’s corporate offices. (Following the release of Backrooms, the director noted that he wanted to make a Portal movie and subsequently posted about trips to Valve on Instagram.) Naturally, Parsons didn’t confirm or deny what exactly is going on between them, but confirmed that he has had conversations with the company — but he only wants to work with them if it’s done right.
“They work in experiments, and I like that, because that tends to be how I work,” he said. “I don’t have a desire to sensationalize anything I may or may not be talking to them about over there, because it’s mainly: Is it possible to make something compelling in some way that we like? What do you guys want to do? What do I want to do? Is there anything on the table in any way, shape, or form?
“And if it’s not, I would defend a future where we don’t even go down that road, but it’s more like having an abstract creative conversation that could flow in like 30 different directions. If you know the way Valve works, I think they’re looking to experiment more internally than anything that’s going to be talked about. If something cool comes of it, I am sure somehow, people will know.”
As noted, Parsons has expressed interest in making a Portal movie and also recently confirmed that he is working on three “dream projects.” These projects seem to be linked to some kind of IP, but Parsons has also previously stated he has no real interest in a property like Star Wars, and his desire for adaptations lies more within a small handful of things from his childhood, such as Valve’s games.
Whether a Portal movie actually happens remains to be seen, but it’s good to hear that Parsons isn’t simply trying to jack the franchise from Valve. Although there hasn’t been a new mainline Portal game since 2011, interest in the series remains high among fans. Perhaps a film could inspire a new game… or maybe Parsons has ambitions beyond a movie and would like to do something with the game’s developers, instead. He has extensive experience with Blender, so he isn’t out of his element, after all.