“Backrooms” has become one of 2026’s biggest blockbusters after grossing $364 million globally. Writer/director Kane Parsons began his journey with a series of shorts on his YouTube channel and caught the attention of A24, which produced his feature film directorial debut. To say its success has broken down barriers for him in the industry is quite an understatement.
With “Backrooms” now streaming on Peacock, Parsons is being courted by four major studios—A24, Warner Bros., Universal and Sony. Warner Bros. proposed a deal with both the studio and HBO Max for potential TV ideas, while Sony rushes to put together their own robust offer, as initially reported by Puck.
But it’s A24 that’s placing all the bets on Parsons in a colossal way.
A24 Puts Together Crazy Deal
“Backrooms” is A24’s biggest hit to date. So, it’s no surprise that the production studio is ready to shell out the big bucks to land Parsons again. A24 proposes a massive $65 million three-year first-look deal, including TV, that includes bonuses—but only if he makes two films with that deal. One of those films? A “Backrooms” sequel has been tossed around.
While Kane Parons fields deal offers, his contemporary Curry Barker, behind the juggernaut “Obsession,” has lined up his next horror feature. Barker reunites with Universal and Blumhouse’s Atomic Monster for “something I’ve been excited to make for a while,” he told Deadline. Barker’s third feature film, which follows the upcoming “Anything But Ghosts,” will be produced by Roy Lee and Steven Schneider’s Spooky Pictures and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath’s Divide/Conquer.
Kane Parsons is Against AI
In June, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Google struck an AI research partnership with A24 for development on AI tools for filmmakers. In the aftermath of online uproar from A24 loyalists, a spokesperson told Wired that “this partnership exists because we want to dictate what tools get built for artists, and so they have a voice in shaping them rather than having tools handed to them. We’d rather have a seat at the table than on the sidelines.”
This news stands in stark contrast to Kane Parsons’ very vocal opinions against AI in creative work. “I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons told The Australian. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
He does, however, recognize the potential usefulness of AI for mundane tasks. “Right now, it’s difficult to discuss objectively because there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
But Parsons is far more “interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
“We already live in a world where you walk outside, and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop,” he adds. “That’s become part of our visual reality. Generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
