Sutradara Kane Parsons mengonfirmasi rencana pengembangan film horor Backrooms produksi A24 menjadi sebuah rangkaian proyek sinematik jangka panjang setelah penayangan perdana film tersebut di bioskop pada Jumat, 29 Mei 2026.
Kisah orisinal mengenai seorang pria yang menemukan portal ruang tanpa batas ini sengaja dirancang sebagai langkah awal dari narasi yang lebih besar. Parsons menyatakan bahwa kelanjutan cerita tersebut sudah menjadi tujuan utamanya sejak mulai membuat konten viral di YouTube.
"[Sequels are] more than an option — it's been the intention since 2022," kata Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms kepada Polygon.
"I went as far as I could with the YouTube series. [Making a feature film] became an option — I thought it'd be a much slower road to get to where things are now. This film is the first part in what I would desire to be several narrative steps, in terms of approaching what I consider to be the true heart of the idea. I just don't think you could get to it in the time you have for a single movie." lanjut Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
Parsons berharap proyek ini dapat bertransformasi menjadi sebuah serial film adaptasi. Konsep antologi yang diusung nantinya juga membuka peluang bagi cerita untuk bergeser keluar dari genre horor murni.
"A series would be my dream scenario, personally," ujar Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
"I think that's the most practical way to narratively get what you want. But obviously, a series is a whole thing. So it won't be immediate, it won't be ‘snap your fingers and it's here.' And in general, the series, in my mind, is not determined by its genre label. The way I think of it is definitely a lot more of an interpersonal sort of drama built on top of a supernatural techno-thriller. That’s more the space I feel comfortable in." tambah Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
Meskipun berniat memproduksi film layar lebar lebih lanjut, Parsons tetap berkomitmen untuk merilis konten tambahan melalui platform YouTube. Ia mengaku mendapatkan kepuasan kreatif yang setara saat bekerja secara independen di platform tersebut.
"YouTube has been a great tool for me so far — a platform I deeply enjoy working with," ungkap Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
"I get the same amount of creative satisfaction working there independently as I do on this film. So I'll probably still engage with YouTube, to an extent." tutur Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
Terkait regulasi hukum dan sikap rumah produksi A24 terhadap konten independennya di masa depan, Parsons menjelaskan bahwa sejauh ini komunikasi internal berjalan dengan sangat baik tanpa ada penolakan dari pihak studio.
"I haven't gone and actually engaged with that, since the film's now in the process of releasing," jelas Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
"But there's never been any pushback when it's been spoken about internally. And that's always been the idea. I think the YouTube side just gets left as is. I don't know what the exact legal writing on that is. I believe it mostly just comes down to A24 having awareness of [what I make], and probably pre-awareness to view these things. But they've been very creatively hands-off, and I think they're trusting the creative judgment calls I'm making, in terms of how I'm delivering media to the audience. So if something like that feels productive and compelling, I don't think they have an incentive to try to block it in any way." papar Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
Sutradara berusia 20 tahun itu juga memastikan bahwa seluruh alur cerita Backrooms sudah dirancang secara utuh dari awal hingga akhir. Langkah ini diambil untuk menjaga konsistensi kontinuitas narasi agar tidak membingungkan para penggemar.
"I like to start from the ending [of a project] first, so I know where I'm going," kata Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
"I like to make sure I'm not in the camp of projects that are making themselves up as they go along, and don't have an actual thread to be holding to the whole time. I feel like half the things I've grown up with, the final season — they talk about knowing the ending, but it usually feels like they just say that for press, and then it falls apart at the end. I will not fire shots at anything in particular, but it feels like a not uncommon experience. So I've cared about making a project that is built from the ground up in such a way that it is going to have continuity and throughlines." pungkas Kane Parsons, Sutradara Film Backrooms.
