Backrooms 2 Is More Likely Than Ever (But A24 Controversy Might Get in the Way)

A24 has built its reputation on modestly budgeted, high-concept swings, but nothing in the studio’s 14-year history compares to the phenomenon of Backrooms. Adapted from Kane Parsons’ viral YouTube series of the same name, itself inspired by an anonymous internet creepypasta that began circulating in 2019, the film turned a $10 million production into the biggest opening weekend in A24’s history. Parsons, who directed the movie as a 20-year-old making his feature debut, instantly became the youngest filmmaker ever to top the domestic box office. With numbers like these, speculation about a follow-up was inevitable. Whether that sequel actually happens now hinges on a much bigger negotiation playing out behind the scenes at A24.

According to a new report from Puck News, A24 is currently negotiating a three-year first-look deal with Parsons worth more than $65 million, with an additional bonus attached if the director completes two feature films within that window. A sequel to Backrooms is reportedly among the projects already under discussion as part of the arrangement. The deal is not finalized, and A24 faces competition from Warner Bros., Universal, and Sony, all of which are said to be circling Parsons themselves. A24 also tried to fold television projects into its pitch, an offer Parsons has apparently already turned down, as he reportedly intends to shop any TV ideas to other buyers separately.

Kane Parsons and A24 Are at Odds In Essential Things

“If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would,” Parsons told The Australian during the Backrooms press tour in early June, adding that he gets no creative enjoyment from those tools and that they defeat the purpose of filmmaking entirely for him. He went further, describing generative AI as less an innovation than a symptom of broader cultural and economic decline, while acknowledging that the real-world stakes involved make the technology difficult to discuss with any nuance. The comments spread quickly online, positioning Parsons as one of the more outspoken young voices resisting AI adoption in Hollywood at a moment when the industry remains sharply divided over the technology’s role in the creative process.

Weeks after those remarks made headlines, A24 signed a research partnership with Google’s DeepMind division, reported at $75 million, to help develop AI tools for filmmakers. The studio maintained that the arrangement would not resemble the prompt-based generative tools that have drawn public backlash, but the timing proved awkward given Parsons’ comments only weeks earlier. Critics online seized on the contradiction, noting that A24 had just profited from the record-breaking run of a director who publicly rejected the very technology the studio was now investing in. The optics complicate a working relationship that A24 needs to keep intact if it wants to lock down its most valuable young filmmaker before a rival studio gets the chance.

Adding to the tension, A24 recently came under fire for issuing copyright takedowns against fan-made Backrooms wallpaper, textile designs, and independent games, some of which predate Parsons’ own web series by several years. Because the Backrooms mythology began as an open-source creepypasta built collectively across Reddit and 4chan, Parsons does not own the broader concept, and he acknowledged as much when addressing the backlash, posting on Reddit that the takedowns “should not be happening.” He later told fans on Discord that he had been in touch with A24, which attributed the wallpaper removals to an outsourced error and said the matter might involve a third party rather than the studio itself. Still, Parsons made clear he considers A24 ultimately responsible, saying he’s “demanding reform and answers,” even though the studio is “very much on the side of the community over here.” With A24 preparing for a statement, according to Parson, the success of his Backrooms might help shape the studio’s policies.

Backrooms is now streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV.

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