After turning one of the internet’s strangest horror concepts into a theatrical movie, Kane Parsons isn’t leaving the yellow hallways behind. The filmmaker will return to direct “Backrooms 2” for A24, with the sequel now set to become his next feature. The news follows A24’s reported effort this summer to lock Parsons into a major new deal that included a contemplated “Backrooms” sequel.
Dread Central reports that Parsons has officially signed on, with a formal announcement expected shortly. The question had been whether Parsons would immediately make another “Backrooms” movie or move first to another project he has been developing with Osgood Perkins, who produced the first film and mentored Parsons during his transition from YouTube filmmaker to feature director. “Backrooms 2” has apparently won that race.
It’s hardly difficult to understand why. Parsons was only 16 when he uploaded “The Backrooms (Found Footage)” to YouTube in 2022, building his own mythology around the already-existing internet concept of endless, uncanny transitional spaces. His original video eventually drew tens of millions of views, and Parsons continued expanding the idea through interconnected shorts before Hollywood came calling. The Playlist previously spoke with Parsons about making the jump from his viral videos to an A24 feature, including where he might take the mythology next.
The first “Backrooms”, written by Will Soodik and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, centers on a mysterious doorway discovered beneath a furniture showroom that opens into the seemingly endless dimension. Our review called Parsons’ feature adaptation a terrifying expansion of the creepypasta concept. Parsons has also made clear that the film only scratches the surface of the mythology he developed online, particularly around Async, the organization attempting to understand and exploit the phenomenon.
So unlike plenty of horror sequels engineered after an unexpected hit, “Backrooms 2” already has somewhere to go. The challenge for Parsons will be expanding that mythology without losing the unnerving simplicity that made the Backrooms compelling in the first place.
“Backrooms 2” does not yet have a production start or release date.
- Rodrigo Perez
