Why Kane Parsons' Backrooms Movie Likely Won't Run Into Any Legal Trouble

Few movies in 2026 have or will generate quite as much buzz as "Backrooms." There are a number of reasons for that. For one, its director, Mr. Kane Parsons, is just 20 years old and directed the A24 feature film at 19. "Backrooms" is also poised to be the biggest box office surprise of the summer, becoming an instant success for both Parsons and A24.

It's also just the latest example of a YouTuber going on to find mainstream success in Hollywood, following in the footsteps of Markiplier ("Iron Lung") and Curry Barker ("Obsession"). What makes "Backrooms" unique is that its origins are rooted in internet lore, with its history initially crafted by a number of people. But might this movie run into any legal trouble, given that it started as a community-driven project online?

Parsons, through his YouTube series "The Backrooms," greatly expanded the lore and, in many ways, offered up a definitive version of it. Speaking about that at the movie's premiere, which was attended by /Film's BJ Colangelo, Parsons spoke about the unique nature of his movie, sort of indirectly addressing the legal red tape of it all. Here's what he had to say: 

"I think I just to get it out of the way, the process of going from what is essentially a decentralized, open source creative project online that no one really has a direct piece of ownership over, and is beloved and expected by so many people in so many different ways, and being able to navigate that through, you know, having a narrative vessel for it online for a number of years and finding a way to bring it into this container that you're about to watch has been strange, exciting, and extremely fun."

Like many other creepypastas or internet memes before it, "Backrooms" doesn't belong to any one person. In theory, someone else could make another, different movie based on this creepypasta, so long as they aren't directly tapping into Kane Parsons' specific contributions. For example, a video game called "Escape the Backrooms" was released last year. It has no relation to the movie.

Some situations are more cut-and-dried. Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012; now they own "Star Wars." That's pretty cut and dry. When it comes to "Backrooms," much of it has to do with how Parsons interpreted the lore that was building online. More specifically, what he added to the equation. In a recent interview with IGN, he explained what he brought to the equation that helped make his YouTube series stand out:

"I think it has a horror aspect to it inherently, but it wasn't really utilized in many ways until I had the desire, because these liminal space photo compilations had been going on for a while. I had been using Blender for a few years, the 3D program. What would it be like to actually move the camera around in that space and actually investigate it a little bit more?"

"Backrooms" is an example of the viral trend that is liminal horror. This whole thing started with an unsettling photo of a yellow room, leading to an online fascination with liminal spaces. Parsons then took that ball and ran with it, adding unique monsters, extra layers, and lots of specific lore, including the Async Research Institute, which explores the Backrooms. Stuff like this is uniquely tied to Parsons and the piece of this IP that he and A24 now have cinematic ownership over.

"Backrooms" is going to make a lot of money. It is, in all likelihood, the start of a new Hollywood horror franchise. As a result, there is going to be a lot of money someone might, in theory, feel entitled to. Not that A24 and Kane Parsons' lawyers didn't do their due diligence, but it's not impossible to imagine that someone who contributed something to "The Backrooms" might want a slice of the pie.

Once something is successful, it's not uncommon for people to find reasons to sue. The screenplay for "The Sting, for example, sparked a laundry list of lawsuits. It happens pretty frequently. That said, because this was an open-source concept to begin with, it would be difficult for any single person to prove ownership.

In a November 2024 interview with Smosh Alike, Parsons addressed the legality of it all, specifically from his perspective. From his side and A24's side, they don't intend to go after anyone who makes "Backrooms" stuff and puts it online, which is the other, potentially ugly side of the equation.

"It is an unconventional scenario that we're in here where we have a major motion picture adaptation of something that by all means started as an open sourced, public domain idea. There has been no interest in going after people by anyone I've spoken to. That just seems like a bad idea. We don't want to make people angry at us for no good reason."

George Lucas sued "Battlestar Galactica" over similarities to "Star Wars." These things happen. At the very least, for the time being, it seems like this was pretty well thought out and everyone wants to play nice.

"Backrooms" is in theaters now.