Among the list of long-rumored and delayed video game adaptations,Portalsits towards the top. The best-selling game series by Valve is one of the most iconic and influential video game franchises of all time, with the first game released back in 2007. One director who has long been associated with the franchise isDan Trachtenberg. The director made a name for himself in 2011 by directing the short filmPortal: No Escape, which brought the game’s portal-jumping technology to life on a minimal budget. As such, Trachtenberg has been fans' go-to pick to adapt thePortalfilm, but the movie’s development can’t seem to make it past the tutorial.
Dan Trachtenberg sat down with Collider to promote theanimated moviePredator: Killer of Killers,and the director was asked about the long-gestatingPortalfilm. Trachtenberg said thatPortal’s chances of making it to the big screen grow slimmer with each day, as the quality of other video game adaptations increases. “The hardest thing about doing a Portal movie now is thatDungeons & Dragonsmovie, that was phenomenal, terribly underrated, should have had a bigger audience, did a Portal sequence in it that was absolutely spectacular,” he began. “AndLilo & Stitchjust did some fun portal things, as well. So, I think it’s not the same as it was, not to mean that there still isn’t more to do there.”
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Trachtenberg revealed that he pitched aPortalfilm after producing his short film, but the unnamed studio wasn’t interested in the project. “Right after doing the short, I had pitched what I would have done, and it was a bonkers, crazy idea,” he explained. WhenPortal’s chances of making it to the big screen were at their highest,J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot company owned the rightsto the adaptation. But, the project has been in limbo for so long, Dan Trachtenberg now has no idea who holds the IP, or if he’s even interested in making the film anymore:
“So, I don’t know where they’re at now. I don’t know if Bad Robot still has it. They might still have it. In one sense, it sort of is a chapter from the past for me, but also, my mind hasn’t been there as of late.”
‘Portal’ Is About More Than Just… Portals
WhenPortalwas released back in 2007, one of the most jaw-dropping aspects of the game was its portal-infused puzzle physics. Players acted as test subjects for Aperture Science Laboratories, testing out the company’s new portal gun. As well as the well-designed and frustrating puzzles, the games also included a surprisingly dark story involving the company’s past test subjects, a loveable companion cube, and cake.
Led by the iconic and meme’d to death phrase “the cake is a lie,” eager players could dive deeper than the puzzles on the surface to uncover the sinister goings-on at Aperture Science Laboratories, run by the evil robot lifeform GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System).
In the meantime, Dan Trachtenberg’sPortal: No Escapeis available to watch for free on YouTube.
