Way back in 2013, film director J.J. Abrams and Valve CEO Gabe Newell told the world that movies based on Half-Life and Portal were in the works at Abrams’s Bat Robot Productions. Last night, during HBO’s gala premiere for the premiere episode of Westworld, Abrams reconfirmed that both adaptations are still on track.
Speaking to IGN, Abrams revealed that he actually has a meeting with Valve next week, and that he’s hoping to make an announcement concerning Portal “fairly soon.” While the cagey director wouldn’t elaborate further on the agenda for that meeting, he did say that they’re very close to finding a screenwriter:
“We are having some really interesting discussions with writers, many of whom…once you said you’re doing a movie or show about a specific thing that is a known quantity you start to find people who are rabid about these things. As someone who loves playing Half Life and Portal, what’s the movie of this, it’s incredible when you talk to someone who just ‘gets’ it, it’s like, oh my god, it’s really the seed for this incredible tree you’re growing.”
And in case you were wondering, Abrams had a hearty laugh at the mere mention of Half-Life 3. So… Half-Life 3 is probably going launch on May 7, 2017… because as we all know, that’s World Laughter Day.
