Famke Janssen wants ‘Backrooms’ filmmaker to direct an ‘X-Men’ film
Famke Janssen thinks the young filmmaker behind Backrooms should be given the keys to the X-Men universe, and she made no secret of it during a masterclass appearance at Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival last week.
The veteran actress, best known for playing Jean Grey across five X-Men films, was asked during the conversation whether director Kane Parsons deserved a shot at an X-Men instalment.
Her answer was immediate.
“Absolutely,” she said. Janssen had already made her admiration for Parsons and his Backrooms co-creator Curry Barker clear, describing their work as paradigm-shifting.
“These are two young guys who built their own audiences on YouTube. They had a vision and didn’t go to a studio with their cup asking for money. They just took their own careers in their hands and for very little money created movies that are incredibly creative, entertaining and found huge audiences. I’m so thrilled to see that. And they’re analog, they’re not AI driven or CGI heavy films.”
She was particularly struck by the practical approach Parsons took to Backrooms, which was filmed using real-life labyrinthine sets rather than digital effects.
Her verdict: “Backrooms is like Stanley Kubrick on crack.” She also noted that their success carries a wider significance for the industry.
“It just opened a door, not just for them, but for other people to say, ‘We don’t have to go with this old-fashioned system where we make a movie for $300 million.'”
On the question of her own potential return to the X-Men franchise, Janssen was open but non-committal.
She had previously told Nerdtropolis at Spacecon 2026 that Marvel “made a mistake” by not bringing her back as Jean Grey for December’s Avengers: Doomsday, though that comment was not revisited during the Malta conversation.
When moderator John Ross of Vanity Fair asked whether she would ever consider returning, she said the door was always open, on the right terms.
“I’m always open to any opportunity or role or reprising something I’ve done when there’s something good to play and I can do something with it. It’s whatever fits into your life in those moments.”
