J.J. Abrams Says ‘Half-Life’ And ‘Portal’ Movies Still In Development
Over three years ago, it was revealed that filmmaker/producerJ.J. Abramsand game-masterGabe Newellof Valve Software were working to collaborate to make games and movies, which included adaptations of popular Valve gamesPortalandHalf-Life. We haven’t heard any updates in the three years since… until now.
ThePortalandHalf-Lifemovie news initially was revealedduring the DICE keynote talk in 2013. Newell said that they were “recapitulating a series of conversations going on” and that the two had “reached the point that we decided to do more than talk.” Abrams chimed in, saying, “There’s an idea we have for a game that we’d like to work with Valve on,” before Newell added that they are “super excited about that and we’re going to figure out if we can make aPortalmovie orHalf-Lifemovie together.”
It’s now three years later and we haven’t heard anything about the collaboration since. However,IGNwas able to get an answer recently while talking with Abrams who was promoting10 Cloverfield Lane. When asked for a status update on thePortalandHalf-Lifeprojects, Abrams responded with the following:
Not yet, but they’re in development. And we’ve got writers, and we’re working on both those stories. But nothing that would be an exciting update.
Of course, we have no idea who those screenwriters are, and know nothing more about the projects. In 2010,Newell proclaimedthat any adaptation of a Valve property would be done by the studio itself. So maybe the film adaptations are being written by people internally at Valve? Either way, it sounds like theHalf-LifeandPortalmovies are still both a ways off.
Abrams' latest film as producer,10 Cloverfield Lane, was directed byDan Trachtenberg, who in many ways burst onto the scene withPortal: No Escape, a fan film based on the popular Valve video game series. I’m sure many fans are wondering if Abrams would again collaborate with Trachtenberg on a big screenPortalmovie. After the success of10 Cloverfield Lane, it seems like Dan will have his choice at a follow-up and I’m not sure if he has more to say with regard to returning to the world ofPortalfor a feature-length film. And besides that, Trachtenberg isbusy developinga time-travel heist film titledCrime of the Centuryover at Universal.
